


The End Of A Nightmare

by CloseToSomethingReal



Category: The Glass Scientists (Webcomic)
Genre: AU, Death, Electrocution, Guns, Poison, Suicide
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-10-03
Updated: 2017-11-18
Packaged: 2019-01-08 10:12:51
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 19
Words: 48,702
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12252285
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CloseToSomethingReal/pseuds/CloseToSomethingReal
Summary: Henry Jekyll has spent his life trying to please and learning just how badly he can fuck that up, ending with him scapegoating Edward Hyde to get the lodgers back. Hyde's not in the mood to forgive him, and Henry is tired of spending his life apologizing.So it's time to do something drastic. And this time, Edward Hyde has to deal with the consequences alone.





	1. Chapter 1

“There. You’re safe. No police officers coming after you any longer, Hyde. You’re welcome.” Henry Jekyll announced to the window as he left the commissioner’s office.

It had been a long three weeks of fighting to prove that Edward Hyde might actually be innocent, with only two actual appearances from Hyde, and both times the police had nearly locked him up after listening to his testimony, and he’d escaped by the skin of his teeth.

Finally, the commissioner, over one bottle of very strong wine that would have had Henry stumbling had he not developed quite a tolerance to it since Edward Hyde had appeared, he had finally managed to convince them that the fault for everything lied with Doctor Moreau, not Mister Hyde.

It was not an easy battle, to save the reputation of a man who possessed none. The street urchin story did not do well when people remembered the small blond from too many bar fights and brothels.

The face in the window did not seem impressed. Green eyes glared back at Henry’s red ones. _I like how I’m expected to thank you for proving my innocence when you never apologized for scapegoating me in the first place, Jekyll._ He remarked, floating a few inches from the ground in order to be the same height as the man who’s reflection he was impersonating, arms crossed over his chest.

Oh, he was _pissed._ Henry was only just realizing how acutely he could feel it.

“It was for the good of everyone involved that I blame you for it, Hyde, don’t get snarky with me now.” Jekyll scolded, narrowing his red eyes at his reflection. Edward did not seem phased by that phrase.

 _So three weeks of not coming out unless it’s for an interview which leads to me almost getting caught or shot is for my own good, Jekyll?_ He challenged. His mouth did not move, his voice resounded purely in Henry’s head, rather than holding the illusion of coming through Henry’s ears.

Great. He was too furious to bother holding an illusion of humanity.

“Hyde, you know damned well that isn’t what I meant, stop putting words in my mouth, and on that note, shut up. We’re in public I can’t afford to have this argument with you here.” Said Jekyll, full on glaring at the blond in the window now.

 _That’s no reason for me to stop speaking, only for you to stop your futile arguing when you are well aware that I am right! You would have left me unable to ever go out again! You probably would have_ enjoyed _doing it to me!_ Hyde accused, cloak lashing out around him, swirling dark greens and black through the windows of the shops surrounding them. No matter where Henry looked, the green eyes laid in front of him, accusing and hurt.

Henry Jekyll didn’t reply. Edward Hyde had a right to be angry with him, he had framed him for burning down the society, and blamed the fight on him rather than Moreau. All to protect the reputation of the rogue scientists within the walls of his building, since Hyde could not even be considered a gentleman in the loosest terms, never mind a scientist.

Did he have the interests of a scientist? Yes. Did he pursue them? No. That was Henry’s job.

And just to turn on the defense, use the fact that Moreau was refuted and secluded from the community for sciences after his actions, once the exhibition had been finished, rather than find a new way to exonerate Edward Hyde.

He was well aware that he had hurt Hyde. Despite the taunting and mutual hard feelings they had their arrangements. Neither one of them really tried to do anything to ruin the other, they had too much dirt and power over each other.

Henry had broken that arrangement by throwing Hyde to the wolves for the fight at the society. Hyde had been trying to help, to protect Frankenstein and her monster, and meanwhile, Henry had betrayed him. For the good of the society as well, but it still had not been proper or kind.

 _I should ruin you. You have no right not to let me out, and no right not to expect me to ruin you. You tried to_ destroy _me but you’re still going to try and stop me having my freedom whenever I ask for it, you’ll still expect me to protect Henry Jekyll’s precious reputation, still expect me to listen to you, hand over the reigns whenever you need them back, but I can’t even trust you not to blame me for something that wasn’t my fault._ Hyde taunted, swelling himself up around Henry. Black and green tendrils were all the good doctor could see, he had to stop and orient himself before he could find the doors to the society. Stumble through the halls, ignoring the looks from Rachel and Sinnett as he passed them.

Oh, Hyde was _livid._ Henry could feel the energy and anger buzzing him like holding his finger in a plug, or touching one of Mr. Tweedy’s inventions. Hyde was _furious._ He had been for the past three weeks, and nothing Henry had said had been able to cease that. Why should it? Hyde had every right to be angry with him.

Henry closed and locked the doors to the study. Placed himself in front of the mirror, sat down cross legged on the floor. Ignoring Hyde’s fury was not going to work today. He was going to have to talk to the demon on the other side of the mirror, but could he even call Edward Hyde a demon when he was simply the evil side of Henry Jekyll? Anything Hyde did was technically Jekyll’s fault. He acted on Jekyll’s wildest, cruelest thoughts. Sure, he had become his own, but the first few crimes had been inspired from Henry Jekyll.

The mirrors eventually calmed down as Hyde realized he had Jekyll’s undivided attention for the first time in three weeks. _“You betrayed me and ignored me unless you needed me to do something.”_ His voice actually seemed out loud now, his mouth moved with the phrases, unlike in the windows earlier.

“Yes. I’m sorry, Hyde.” Jekyll agreed.

 _“You wouldn’t even talk to me unless you were directing me with exactly what to do while I had to talk to the police.”_ Hyde accused.

God, he was a mess. Clearly he was more than just angry, this was a betrayal. Hyde’s messy blond mane of hair was tangled and gross, if Jekyll didn’t know better he’d have thought he’d been in a fight, with the bags under his eyes, but clearly he just hadn’t been sleeping, since Hyde couldn’t fight anyone but Jekyll, verbally or in mirror form, from inside his reflection.

Yep, Hyde had been suffering the anxiety of the idea of never being able to be himself again. Jekyll would not allow him to go out if it risked the good doctor’s freedom and secrets.

“I am sorry, Edward. It was wrong to blame you for all of this, I needed my lodgers back for the exhibition and it was the fastest way to-”

 _“I am not interested in your petty excuses, Henry Jekyll!”_ Edward Hyde snarled from where he floated in the mirror. His green eyes were laced with anger and pain and fear, though his sharp, snaggled teeth were glinting ominously. He conveyed many emotions, yet most of what Henry felt, surprisingly, was guilt and pity.

 _“I don’t need your_ pity, _Henry Jekyll, I’ve had enough of your petty little apologies! You apologize now but next time it’s convenient to use me, you will!”_ Edward accused.

God, he was terrible to the creature, wasn’t he? One could argue that Hyde was an experiment, but Jekyll knew better. He had, in fact, created a second human being out of himself, and keeping him trapped in the mirror was worse than trapping him in a cage. “I shouldn’t have put you in a position where you were stuck in there. One moment, now that you’re cleared, I’ll mixed up some of the HJ7, I’ll throw my paperwork to the side for a week, you can have every night starting the moment the sun is setting, until… be back at my apartment before Poole brings breakfast.”

 _“This doesn’t just go away, Henry Jekyll.”_ Hyde warned. _“Your gentleman’s act may get you places in society but I_ know _you, I_ am _you. Your little deal doesn’t get rid of the fact that you betrayed me.”_

“Then what else do you want, Edward, I’m listening, but all you seem to do is get mad at my suggestions. It doesn’t make me want to help you.”

 _“I want what you cannot give me. A guarantee you won’t throw me in harms way next time fucking Lanyon convinces you to, or you decide it’s easier than fighting for something else!”_ Hyde told him, finally settling a little, sitting on the ground, cloak retracting most of the way back to it’s normal shape, but green coils still occupied the room’s reflection.

“And how do you know you won’t get that?” Henry asked him, sighing. Hyde was right. He couldn’t offer the blond that, not when he could think of too many reasons why he might betray the blond’s trust again.

Henry sighed. “You’re right, Hyde. Is that what you want? An acknowledgement that I’ve grown dependant on you, like a drug? These three weeks have taken their toll on me as well, Edward.”

 _“You aren’t dependant on me. You’re dependant on using me.”_ Hyde retorted. The final anger died from the reflection, the room surrounded Hyde inside of his own abstract emotions.

“Yes. Congratulations to the Spirit Of London At Night, you know me better than my lies. I am. I use you to get what I can not, and it is not fair of me.” Henry agreed.

 _“Flattery is not going to make me forgive you right now, Jekyll.”_ Hyde warned. _“You betrayed me. All your talk about being the perfect gentleman and you can’t even not betray yourself. You’re pathetic and I’m fucking sick of you!”_

Henry realized that Hyde was right. More than right.

And from there, Henry had to do something about it. Because he couldn’t just not act on the fact that he would use and abuse his alter ego to the breaking point, until they could never cooperate again and one of them ruined the other.

He got to his feet, walked over to the desk.

 _“Do you think we’re done here, Henry?”_ Hyde demanded.

“I’m fixing the problem for you. You’re welcome.” Henry replied, sighing. The society lived or died by his reputation, Hyde got used and betrayed by him, all unless he changed something.

Henry wished he could confront _himself_ in the mirror, try to piece this together without Hyde’s interruptions, but that was clearly never going to happen. He was stuck with the creature in the mirror now, and he had to make his decisions with the blond or by himself. No time to contemplate himself. Ever.

He dug through his drawer, pulled out his ingredient list for the potion that had originally created Hyde, back when he’d thought Hyde was just a fluffy looking figure in the mirror, not the frightening creature he could be if he tried.

Read through the list.

Felt Hyde’s sudden fear. Of course. Henry had threatened to destroy Hyde more than once, and he would be able to do it with what had created him.

And from in the mirror, Hyde would not be able to stop him if that was what Henry decided to do.

Henry pulled out a beaker, lit a burner underneath it, poured some of the salt into it. Added a splash of water, waited for the salt to saturate the mix.

More fear from his alter ego, swirling up inside Henry. Edward’s presence in the mirror all but disappeared, only the man himself left following Henry around, feet firmly on the ground, green eyes wide with fright.

 _“Henry what are you doing?”_ He tried to ask, but Jekyll did not bother to answer him, he was simply too busy watching his mixture mix together.

“Edward, I’m trying to work. You wanted me to prove that this wouldn’t happen again. Now it won’t.”

 _“I did not want you to kill us, you mad man!”_ Edward told him. Apparently, the apparition in the mirror had recognized most of the ingredients in that potion as fatal.

“I’m not going to kill us, I haven’t finished making this, Edward. Relax.” Henry assured him, measuring a few drops of another chemical into the beaker. It hissed and fizzled and bubbled, blue smoke flying up at Henry’s face. He coughed, turned away to avoid breathing too much of it while it simmered down.

Hyde was watching anxiously from his home on the pane of glass that covered on one of the cabinets full of beakers and vials and chemicals. He didn’t have the chemistry or alchemy knowledge to know what Henry was in the process of creating.

Henry’s hands were shaking with fear and nervousness, but Hyde was right. He needed to stop hurting the people around him, hurting the person in the mirror, and Hyde would never suffer from him again if he did this.

 _“Henry… tell me what you’re trying to do!”_ Hyde’s voice was full of anxiety and fear, it shook. Henry didn’t tell him. Poured the last of his measured chemicals, it turned a putrid shade of green. Henry pulled it off the fire, fear settling steadily into his stomach. Part of him prayed this wouldn’t work, most of him knew it had to. For the good of everyone else.

He couldn’t take being responsible for all of this all the time anymore. He wouldn’t ruin another life, not again. Wouldn’t fuck anyone over like he had Hyde.

_“Henry!”_

Henry didn’t answer. Put the beaker to his lips, and drank. “Goodbye, Edward Hyde. It has been an interesting ride but it is high time it ends.”

_“Henry! Henry you can’t- don’t- I don’t want to die!”_

Immediately fell to the floor, convulsing, green fluid oozing from his eyes, mouth, nose, ears, like it did when he took the HJ7 to become Edward Hyde. The same way, Hyde felt himself being pulled from the mirror into a corporeal form but this wasn’t HJ7 what was it doing?

Convulsions and pain wracked Henry Jekyll’s form at the blond hair blossomed out from his skull, his limbs shrank, the formerly tailored clothing now a few sizes too big.

His eyes went green and suddenly it was Edward Hyde vomiting up green fluid, coughing and choking and retching. “What the fuck was that supposed to do, Henry?” Hyde demanded, wiping the green slop off his face on Henry’s shirtsleeve, something that normally pissed the doctor off to no end. “If it was meant to kill me, it failed.”

No one answered Edward Hyde.

“Henry? This isn’t funny, you bastard, what did you make?” Edward demanded, glanced in the mirror.

No Henry Jekyll.

A pit started to form in Edward’s chest. He reached in the drawer with shaky hand, pulled out a vial of green fluid, dripped a few dribbles of the chemical into it, like Henry had taught him, watched it turn red and chugged it down.

Waited for convulsions. Waited for pain waited for red fluid to start leaking from his eyes and ears and nose and mouth but it didn’t happen.

He mixed another. Gulped it down to the same results.

Read over the ingredients, ran through what Henry had put into that vial.

The vial in his hand crashed to the floor. Edward’s knees felt weak. Desperately, he glanced in the mirror again.

Saw only his own terrified face staring back at him.

His knees gave out on him. He collapsed to the floor as the sudden, acute realization hit him.

The mixture had been toxic. But not to him. Not to both of them.

Edward Hyde felt tears burning his eyes as he realized that Henry Jekyll was gone.

Robert Lanyon found him sobbing over the remnants of the fluid in the vial, still dressed in his alter’s clothing.


	2. Chapter 2

Robert Lanyon, to his credit, did not immediately start yelling. The situation he had just walked in on was… concerning to say the least. Hyde, somewhere in the back of his now lonely mind, knew that.

There were so many questions to ask. Why was Edward Hyde, Henry Jekyll’s weird and terrible office assistant, laying on the floor of Henry Jekyll’s office, covered in red and green spills from the chemicals spilled all over the floor. There were green smudges on Edward Hyde’s pale, tear streaked face.

The little blond was wearing Henry’s clothing. Robert had seen those exact articles on Henry just this morning. A white dress shirt, wine red waistcoat, trousers and a jacket with tails.

They were too big to fit Edward Hyde. They hung off his shoulders, were too long at the wrists and ankles. “Mister Hyde.” Robert crouched down next to the blond. He wanted to shake answers out of the little twerp, Edward Hyde annoyed him to know end, but it would do no good to harass a sobbing man and expect answers out of him. “Mister Hyde, where is Doctor Jekyll?” Robert asked softly.

“Henry is… he is…” Edward Hyde seemed to have lost the ability of coherent speech. Tears were running down his cheeks, his eyes were red rimmed, green sparkles with tears. “Henry is gone…”

“Gone? Has he left London? Without leaving a note? I can’t imagine he would do that, mister Hyde. It would be terribly rude of him to do so. Why are you so upset, if Henry is almost gone?” Robert asked, looking concerned. A hand rested on the little man’s shoulder. “Why are you wearing his clothes? What did you do before he left?”

“Henry is dead, Robert…” Edward sobbed, sniffled, coughed up green and red slime, all down his front. Down the front of Henry’s white dress shirt.

Robert stared at him. “Henry is… dead?” He got to his feet, Edward Hyde flinched. “What the fuck did you do to Henry, Edward Hyde?” He snarled, glaring down at the little blond. “Where did you hide the body, you good for nothing-”

“I didn’t kill him!” Edward Hyde wailed, a miserable sight before the doctor.

For some stupid reason or another, Robert Lanyon thought he actually believed this sodden, repugnant creature before him. What reason to Edward Hyde have to lie about killing Henry? He had always been a man of his actions. If he did something, he stood by it, he didn’t try and deny it.

“Who killed him, Edward.”

“He did.” Edward Hyde was back to speaking coherently, clearly the questions were helping. “Henry Jekyll… Doctor Jekyll… Henry… he… I didn’t know what he was doing I could only watch I…”

“Are you telling me he killed himself? Where is his body?” Lanyon asked.

To his shock, Edward motioned to himself. “I’m his body… I… I was in the mirror I couldn’t stop him and he knew it and he thought I wanted him to die and everything’s quiet and I don’t know what to do Lanyon…”

This conversation was not helping Robert believe two things: one, that Edward was telling the complete truth, and two, that Edward was completely sane at all.

“Edward. You cannot be Henry Jekyll’s body, you are Edward Hyde.” He said with feigned patience.

“We were the same person… the locked drawer… his notes…”

“Okay, assuming I believe that you’re Henry’s corpse, which I don’t, because I’m not a fucking idiot, Mister Hyde. What did you mean in the mirror, and how are you still alive when Henry isn’t?”

Edward Hyde’s cold, clammy, slimy hand groped through the aforementioned drawer. Found a leather-bound notebook with no label on it. Held it out to Robert. It shook in his grip, his hands trembled.

Robert took the book, pulled out of handkerchief to wipe the snot and tears and sweat and chemical slime from where Mister Hyde had held it, and flipped it open. Read aloud from it.

“September 13, 11:56 pm. I have started this alone, and I must finish this alone. I know that I must use myself as the subject of the experiment.”

The words were penned in Henry Jekyll’s elegant, swirling script. Robert would have known it anywhere. He had read through many essays that Henry had written while they were still in college. “What was he trying to do?” Lanyon demanded, turning back to face the sniveling, sniffling creature on the ground before him.

“With fire and salt, your Henry pried apart the human soul. He tested it, purified it, burned away the lies until only darkness remained. His darkness, his demon, curled up inside him all these years. Just waiting to be set free. You never knew any of this. How could you? How could you suspect your friend of such wicked alchemy? How could you know. How could anyone know the profound corruption of his soul?” Edward Hyde murmured, like he was reciting a script he had said many times before.

“What did the experiment do, Edward Hyde?” Lanyon growled, took a step towards the blond. Hyde flinched backwards.

“You don’t believe me.” He replied softly, staring at the floor with wide blown green eyes.

“Don’t go back on the trail of you being Henry’s corpse again, I’ll have to have you committed. And so help me god, no more poetry.”  Lanyon warned.

“Then just go away, you’re no help to me if you won’t believe my words or Henry’s writings!” Edward snapped.

He did not believe Edward Hyde. But no part of him could leave a man this messed up, this distraught, by himself.

And he had not finished reading the journal’s first page. Hyde was right, Henry had tried something. Could it really be… whatever Hyde was trying to imply?

_11:58 pm. It is done. I have ingested 20 centilitres of the newly fused formula. A slight feeling of euphoria. Light headedness. No noticeable behavioural differences._

“What was Henry trying to do in the first place?”

“Rid himself of all evil.” Edward Hyde replied, voice almost steady.

“What do you want me to believe happened instead?” Lanyon asked

“H-he… you have to p-promise n-ne-not to think t-th-that I did i-it if you learn what I am.” Hyde told him, voice quavering again.

“Fine. I’ll hear you out.” Robert conceded.

“Henry sought to remove the evil desires from the human soul. H-he made a potion… the ingredients are on the list on the desk… he… he… pried his soul into pieces… two pieces… one remained Henry Jekyll… the other was me. Edward Hyde.”

“You’re which part?” Robert asked. It was plausible. Henry had been obsessed with purity back in college. He would try and force it chemically if he could not attain it naturally.

“You have to ask me which I am? Over the good Doctor? Between Good Doctor Jekyll and Not-Even-A-Gentleman Mister Hyde? I heard that, you know.” Mister Hyde reasoned, with a hint of his usual scathing sarcasm. Lanyon was glad for it. This subdued version of the boisterous assistant was freaking him out.

Robert Lanyon glanced down to the last line in the first entry of the journal.

_Midnight, September 14- unexpected development._

This was not in Henry’s elegant writing. That was written in what Lanyon knew to be Edward Hyde’s messy scrawl.

Robert leafed through the book. Found several more similar entries before a realization.

_He calls himself Edward Hyde, I do not deny him the name. He is not me, though in a way he is. I have not destroyed the evil in my soul, as I wanted to do. Instead, I have made it its own vessel, one that I become after ingesting around twenty centilitres of the formula I have created. I do not believe him to be a risk on society, and I cannot ethically keep him trapped in what he knows as the mirror._

_He is not wrong. He follows me in my reflection and shadow. I follow him, if I try._

_This is all very odd and will require further examination._

“You weren’t lying. Tell me what happened to Henry. What you did.”

“I was made at him. He threw me to the wolves over Moreau so that his lodgers did not take any flack for it, so the society remained reputable. He went and finally got my name cleared today, thought he was supposed to be my hero or something. I told him that I wasn’t thanking him since he had never apologized for getting me into the trouble in the first place.” Hyde was speaking slowly, lower lip trembling. This discussion, talking about what had led to Henry’s death, was obviously upsetting for him.

“Just breathe, breathe, this isn’t your fault, just breathe and relax. Tell me what happened to Henry.” Lanyon said gently, crouching down and placing a warm hand on Hyde’s clammy shoulder. The man was a sodden, disgusting mess, Lanyon tried not to grimace.

“Even if I prided myself in being the voice of his inner darkness and fears? _I’m giving voice to your deepest fears._ _I am the darkness within, the caged beast at the heart of all humanity. The spirit of London at night._ ”

“You sure like your poetry. What did all that goop mean?” Robert asked, frowning.

“I knew his worst fears. His inmost thoughts, darkest desires. He knew mine as well.” The little blond swallowed hard. “And I… I used it to my full advantage. Including today.”

“Just tell me what Henry did.” It was starting to become a good thing that Hyde didn’t resemble Jekyll much, though a lot of the facial structure was the same. Robert, or a small part of him, wanted to think of Edward as his best friend, if they were the same person, but that was hard when they looked completely different.

“He… he… was listening to me yell at him about what he’d done with the police, I was so mad at him, he’d ignored me for the past three weeks… he got up halfway through, told me he was fixing the problem… I thought he was going to kill me.” Edward was shaking now.

Perhaps he was human in the respect that he feared death. Perhaps he was human even without that.

“He… he… he… he said, directly, Goodbye, Edward Hyde. It has been an interesting ride but it is high time it ends. I thought it was going to kill me with the potion I thought I was dead… I thought I was dead but then it only transformed us… and… and I tried to take the potion to switch back when he wouldn’t answer any of my questions and it didn’t work…” Edward’s voice dropped into a little squeak by the end.

“And you. Where were you during this. How did it work, when you were the one… here, where were you?”

“In the mirror. Henry’s reflection was me, if I wanted it to be, or I could just sink away for a while, get some rest. It… I was always in his head. I know where I am, I can be in the mirror, everything in it is solid to me. It’s _real._ I don’t have to use it though, I can take over the reflection, I could pull Henry’s actual reflection in with me, make him survive in the mirror for short bouts of time but… I couldn’t get myself out so I couldn’t force him to become me… I was better at controlling that dimension and my form than Henry was…” Edward muttered.

“And you’re sure he’s not just… in the mirror? Inside your head and ignoring you?”

“My head is empty, Lanyon, for the first time ever and it’s deafening and he should be yelling at me for telling you all this but he isn’t there and he’s gone and I can’t ever find him again…” Edward took a deep breath, tears sparkling his eyes. “The red potion. It should have forced him back out. I took twice what I have to and nothing happened.”

A pit filled Lanyon’s chest. “So he’s really gone. Dead. Not just missing somehow to reappear later.”

“Yes.” Edward agreed, wiping his eyes with the filthy shirtsleeve of Henry’s white dress shirt. “He’s gone and I don’t know what to do I’ve never lived by myself half of my mind is missing…”

“Well. We start by getting you cleaned up, dressed in something that fits you and it’s covered in grime. Then we go and see Utterson, I think.” Robert Lanyon decided.

“Henry’s lawyer friend.” Edward Hyde realized. He didn’t seem thrilled. He likely didn’t like many of Henry Jekyll’s friends. Lanyon knew that Hyde had never liked him.

“Precisely. He’s a good lawyer.”

“Why do I need a lawyer?”

“Because the Lodgers told me to check on Henry. They watched him walk in here, and you’re about to be the only one of you two that ever walks out again. Claiming that he’s dead. You can’t convince everyone that you and Henry were the same person, even if you convinced me. I won’t be the only person to see the situation and think that you might be guilty.” Lanyon replied. “You’ll need a lawyer to defend you from the police. One that knew Henry well enough to believe this journal and your crazy tale.”

“I’ll be under investigation. For murder.”

“Yes, likely. People who don’t like you will immediately blame you, it’ll be an easy jump. People still believe you caused the burn down of the Society that left us in this dump of a replacement. Henry’s lucky his office got out unscathed.”

“Oh, god, Henry… what have you gotten me in to…” Hyde groaned.

“Henry has left us both. And he left you and I a large mess to clean up for him in wake of his departure.” Robert muttered.

“Why are you going to help me with this mess? You hate me, don’t you? It was your idea to blame me for the whole fight at the society.” Edward Hyde accused.

“A bad idea. Besides. You hate me and just confessed your biggest secret to me. And… you are everything Henry left behind him. The note, the body, and… fractions of his soul.”

“I am not a suicide note. Don’t… don’t say that, please…” Edward begged. “But… I guess… I do know what that note might have said to you… about you…” He admitted. Bit at his lip, as though deciding whether or not to say it.

Lanyon looked curious. “What?” He bit the bait.

“That he loved you dearly, and is sorry he never told you about any of this.”

Robert Lanyon finally felt the gravity of this situation sink in. Tears burned his eyes and slipped down his cheek.

Despite the fact that it would ruin his nice clothing, he found himself in an embrace with the small man before him, sobbing uncontrollably for the loss of his dearest friend and lover.


	3. Chapter 3

Edward Hyde had been the biggest pain to convince to take a bath Robert Lanyon had ever encountered in his life.

Now, it wasn’t that Edward out and outright refused to get in the bath. It was just that he was ridiculously jittery.

“Mister Hyde you are being utterly ridiculous. No, I am not leaving the room. I left the room and walked in to you babbling to the mirror. Edward, you know that Henry cannot answer you no matter how much you talk to that mirror. You need to get prepared to talk to Gabriel.” Robert Lanyon scolded. “So, I’m staying until you’ve gotten those… well, now they’re pretty well ruined, clothes off and are getting into the bath.”

“I am not Henry Jekyll and I am not stripping in front of you!” Edward Hyde retorted. “He was your fuck buddy, not me.”

“For god’s sakes, Edward, I just want you to get cleaned up so that we can go see Utterson. You can’t do that covered in sweat and grim and snot and chemicals!” Lanyon scolded. “I’ll turn away, you can throw on a robe but if I look back and you aren’t out of those fucking rags I will get you out of them myself!”

Hyde glared at him until he turned around.

This time, Lanyon did not hear babbling to the mirrors begin. He heard clothing rustling and falling to the ground. Waited a few more minutes, figuring one of two things would happen. One, Hyde would tell him that he was finished and could be ferreted from the small room attached to Henry Jekyll’s office to the one bathroom that could be locked in the society, hopefully without getting caught by any of the lodgers. Particularly not ones that had seen Henry Jekyll arrive.

Two, Edward Hyde would begin talking to the mirror again. He had done that three times in the past hour and it was getting a touch concerning. Clearly this little blond had relied on Henry a lot more than he had ever wanted to admit, since he apparently had no idea what to do when he couldn’t babble to him all the time.

It was sort of heartbreaking to watch him do it. It wasn’t small talk, Hyde was trying to coax his alter out of the mirror, as though he had forgotten everything he’d said an hour ago about Henry Jekyll not being in there anymore.

“Jekyll… I’m sorry… please, come out, I’m sorry I didn’t mean it you did what you had to I’m being selfish please come back out…”

Lanyon sighed. Turned around. Hyde had thankfully remembered that step two of the sequence he needed to follow was put the robe on, so he wasn’t jarred by the sudden sight of this little imp undressed.

Truthfully, Hyde was not as bad as he made him seem in his head. He was fluffy and small and sort of endearing.

“Edward. No one is there, remember?” Robert said gently, laid a hand on the blond’s shoulder. Hyde jumped. Looked up at him with scared green eyes.

“He won’t come out, Robert. He has to be there but he won’t come out…”

Lanyon was unsure when he had become Robert in Edward’s head, as opposed to Doctor Lanyon, or even just Lanyon. Probably around when Edward had stopped being Mister Hyde.

“Edward. You are the one that told me that Jekyll is dead. He can’t be in your reflection if he’s dead.”

In the end, the idea of Hyde and Jekyll being the same person was still nearly unbelievable. But either Hyde had managed to forge an entire prop and lose it completely in the past day, or he had to be telling the truth. He couldn’t be faking how he kept acting.

He was like someone who had lost their mind, or was slowly losing said mind, since he literally _had_ lost part of his mind.

“He can’t be dead, Robert…”

“He is. Come on, you need to clean up and then we’ll go and see Utterson. He may be able to help.”

And maybe one of Lanyon’s friends, who was a doctor of psychology. It couldn’t hurt, even if he left Hyde with Rachel Pidgley or Gabriel Utterson and went without the man who would be at risk of getting committed if he said the wrong thing or started talking to Henry Jekyll in his reflection again, just to get a second opinion on how he should try and help Mister Hyde.

He couldn’t imagine the talking to mirrors was a good sign, and not this early.

Edward didn’t argue again. Let Robert guide him down the hall, though with Lanyon’s head in the clouds it wasn’t long until he bumped into Rachel.

“Doctor Lanyon? Master Hyde? What has happened to you, master Hyde?” She asked, concerned, looking concernedly at her friend.

“He’s… not doing well, Miss Rachel. I need to get him cleaned up and I’ll get him some help. Doctor Jekyll would like for everyone to stay out of his study for the time being, could you spread the word?” Lanyon requested.

“Oh, _of course_!” Rachel’s face twisted into a devilish grin. “I didn’t know that was what had happened, or that you were part of it, Doctor Lanyon!” She ran off down the hall, a rumour already singing on her tongue.

“What was that about, Edward?” Lanyon asked, vaguely concerned, for himself or for Rachel, he wasn’t sure.

“The Lodgers believe that Jekyll and I are sleeping together. I imagine that’s what she thinks just got confirmed. Somehow.” The phrases seemed coherent again, at least.

“Great. Now she thinks I have a part in that. That’s fucking revolting. Why didn’t either of you put a stop to it?” Lanyon asked, frowning at the blond trailing behind him.

“Ever tried to deny the rumour that you slept with someone, Lanyon? It doesn’t work. Ever.” Mister Hyde replied. “Besides… it was pretty good cover for what was really going on, wasn’t it Henry?”

Great. Here we went again. “Henry isn’t here anymore, Edward, you’re talking to Robert Lanyon.”

Hyde went a little pale. “Right.” He stared down at the floor. “Henry is gone…” He sniffled.

“Don’t start crying again, Edward, you’re never going to get clean if you start crying again.” Lanyon walked into the bathroom, poured the water he’d been heating up into the tub. “Relax, get into the tub, we’ll get you cleaned up and washed up, find you some clothes to wear and get you to Gabriel.”

“You’re still in the room.”

“And you’re going to drown trying to talk to Henry in your reflection on the water if I leave. Hence, I am not going anywhere.” Lanyon told him.

Hyde glared at him. “I’m not Henry I’m not stripping with you in the room.” He spat.

“Are you that awkward? Hard to look at?”

“No! I just don’t want you looking!”

“I’ll go get a book. You’d better be in the water when I get back.” Lanyon told him, and left the room. Ran down the halls, back to Henry’s study. He was going to read more of the journal that he and Edward had wrote.

He wished that he could talk to Henry about all of this. Edward Hyde may have been the biproduct of the experiment, but he didn’t understand the alchemical side to how he had come to be. Everything involved in creating him was a mystery in how it worked to the little blond. Jekyll had made this. Jekyll alone could fully explain it.

Lanyon sighed. Grabbed the journal, walked back into the hall.

Bumped into the newest lodger. The werewolf. Jasper Kaylock, from Bethel Green.

Robert smiled at him.

“Have you seen Doctor Jekyll?” Jasper Kaylock asked him, biting at his lip. A nice flask full of purple fluid, a proper wolfsbane potion, was tied at his hip, ready for the full moon. Virginia Ito must have prepared it for him, it was much better than his own.

“Doctor Jekyll? He has asked not to be disturbed, I’m sure you will hear from him soon.” The lie burned in the back of Lanyon’s throat but he had to tell it. He couldn’t tell Mister Kaylock that Jekyll was dead. Not yet.

“Thank you, Doctor Lanyon.”

“Not a problem, Mister Kaylock.” Lanyon assured him, fighting back guilt for lying.

“Is doctor Jekyll alright? Rachel is spreading rumours about him, and you and Mister Hyde, who she says she saw but he wasn’t here last I checked, but I’m not sure I believe her. They say you…” Jasper turned a bright shade of red.

“No, Henry is not doing well, but it is not the horrible rumours that Miss Pidgley is spreading.” Lanyon assured him.

Jasper nodded and walked away. Lanyon raced back to where he had left his newly acquired high unstable… acquaintance? Protégé? Something.

Hyde had actually listened to Lanyon’s instructions, and while he was up to his chin in the hot water, he was not in the middle of a drowning lesson like Lanyon had feared he might be.

Thank the lord. Robert sat down on the floor and opened the book.

 _I am led to believe that the creature I have created is a dangerous beast. Most often, he makes himself appear harmless, following me in the mirror, impersonating my reflection, occasionally mocking my worst fears in the form of the worst purple prose poetry I have ever heard in my life. But… I fear for what he may do if I give him half a chance._ Henry’s own scripting stopped there.

_Jekyll fears too much. I can only do what he longs to do._

_For now. You will learn how this works, dear Jekyll. I have._

The notebook was a frightening tale. A lot of it did no make Lanyon want to help Edward Hyde. He did seem dangerous, a monster barely contained by Henry Jekyll. A creature who could do much worse than he was currently allowed.

“I spent much time teasing Henry and taunting his fears in that notebook. Not all of what I pretended was true is true.” Hyde admitted. “I have done nothing unforgivable. I simply had the good times that Henry’s reputation didn’t let him have.”

“What did you do?”

A little giggle. “Drank. Fucked. Went to places the good doctor could not. I watched from the rooftops, saw London’s night unfold.”

“Is that what you meant when you called yourself the Spirit of London At Night?” Lanyon asked him, curious.

“Sinful, dark and cruel, our city streets roll up and unfold anew with roads paved with the crimes of man. That is the city of London At Night.” Edward Hyde replied, back onto the poetry thing.

“And you’re the self-proclaimed king of it.”

“Yes.” Edward Hyde agreed. There was a sloshing of water above Lanyon’s head as Hyde dunked his head into the water, scrubbed at his face to clear the grime and filth from it.

“Interesting thing to want to be king of.”

“I’m all the evil in Henry Jekyll’s soul. London at Night is my element.” Hyde laughed. “It shouldn’t be so surprising, Robert.”

“I suppose it shouldn’t. Now, Spirit of London at Night, make sure you wash your hair, too.” Lanyon told him. “Your skin isn’t the only part of you covered in grime.”

“I know how to bathe myself, Robert, I’m not an infant!” Hyde protested, peering over the rim of the tub to glare at the man.

He looked like a sodden cat, with his hair all flattened around his head.

“I’m sure you do, Edward, but I can’t imagine you do it often. Henry probably cleans up after the two of you, and the Spirit of London at Night goes out causing havoc instead.” Lanyon teased.

“And I eat for the both of us, so it works out in the end. Henry skips meals, or replaces them with wine.”

“Then you must accustom yourself to doing both, because Henry is no longer here to do his half.”

“I don’t want to.” Edward admitted, sighing softly and sinking back below the side of the tub.

“He has given you no other choice but to learn how to survive relying on yourself entirely. You are not longer two people. He won’t be coming along to do what you forget.” Robert warned.

“I don’t know how to live as just myself…” Edward Hyde murmured. Robert heard tears in his voice.

“Don’t you dare start crying again! You just got cleaned up and if you start crying I will too and we will get nothing done!” Robert ordered.

He heard only a sniffle. He sighed, got onto his knees. “Sit up.”

To his surprise, there was no more arguing. Hyde sat up, water running off his small shoulders. Robert grabbed the soap, poured some into his hands and got to scrubbing it into the blond’s messy blond hair.

Hyde relaxed ever so slightly, leaned against the side of the tub. There was clearly something relaxing about the predicament of someone else washing your hair…

Henry had always liked it as well.

Robert swallowed hard. Edward Hyde was not Henry Jekyll. He would do well to remember that fact. Would there be similarities? Yes. But Hyde was not his lover. He was the split of Henry’s soul that truthfully, Lanyon had never noticed was missing.

“Dunk your head, we’ll get the soap out of your hair.”

Hyde complied, dunking his head under the water. Robert’s fingers followed, scrubbing the soap from his scalp, until Hyde pushed upwards for breath.

“Good enough. I shall fetch a towel, stay seated.” Robert decided with a smile. Again, no argument from Hyde.

Now he really looked like a drowned cat, it was kinda of hilarious. Lanyon grabbed a towel, held it out to the blond, who wrapped it around himself as he stood. His hair immediately formed wet spots on the linen.

“I’ll trust you alone in this room for five minutes, while I go find you some clothes.”

“Smallest dresser third drawer in the back.” Hyde recited. “We kept pairs of each others’ clothes in this office, Henry’s apartment and mine.”

“Probably a wise plan.” Lanyon left him standing in the cooling bathwater while he walked off to fetch the clothes.

Was entirely unsurprised to find him still standing there, staring at his reflection in the water when he returned. “He’s not coming back. I’m not going to find him in the mirror, or my shadow, anywhere.” He said quietly.

“No, you won’t. Let me guess, you were talking to him again.”

“I’m losing my mind, Robert.” Was his only response. Lanyon sighed, placed the clothes on the dry counter, reached into the bath and pulled the plug, let the water drain away.

“You’ve had a long day. You don’t have to cope well with losing part of yourself. You’ll get better with time. Dry off and get dressed, then we shall go and see Utterson.” Robert stepped out of the room.

Wished he felt as confident about Hyde’s survival and recovery as he sounded.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I borrowed some of MindfulWrath's wording for the will, so that's not technically mine.

Lanyon had to interrupt their journey to Utterson’s law firm to fetch himself a change of clothes. The white sleeves of his shirt were soaked, his waistcoat still stained with tears and various chemicals, mostly from Edward but the edges of his sleeves were himself.

Edward looked a lot better in his own clothing, that was actually tailored to his size and not a few sizes bigger, his hair combed, a black hat with a bright green ribbon tied around it perched on his blond head, one of Henry’s cloaks over his thin shoulders, since his looked like swiss cheese.

All his clothing was green where Henry’s were red, only he did not wear a cravat. Lanyon soon discovered why, the man could not work out a collar to save his life. Edward had fought with the white flaps for five minutes before giving up and letting Robert fix them for him. He fixed an green waistcoat with emerald trim over a white dress shirt, black spats that were actually Henry’s without the white additions, Robert soon learned. He cleaned up rather nicely, in the end.

And was currently staring into outer space, green eyes wide and distinctly vacant. Clouded and empty as the mirrors he continued to search for something more than his own reflection.

“Edward. Edward, are you listening? We should leave, we would be best to catch Gabriel before his office hours are up.” Robert said gently.

Edward blinked several times. “You don’t have the same shirt on anymore.” He seemed to just be realizing it. He closed his eyes and shook his head. It was pretty obvious that Lanyon had gotten changed, he was all in black instead of blue and white.

“Yes. You aren’t the only one who was no longer presentable. That’s what we came here for, Edward.” Robert reminded the blond.

Fear flashed on Edward’s face. “Y-y-you told m-me that…”

“You’ve had a nasty shock. It’s natural to forget things. I’ll speak to a friend of mine in psychiatry. See what he thinks. Won’t mention you by name.” Robert decided.

Edward swallowed hard. He was shaking, pale, chewing on his bottom lip. “Robert please don’t lie to me…” He breathed, sniffled. “I shouldn’t be forgetting everything like this…”

“When you were out and about how many times an hour did Henry have to remind you what you were doing?” Robert asked, voice calm and reassuring.

“Often.”

“So, your brain is just lazy, Edward. It does not realize it has to remember so it doesn’t.” Robert reasoned, smiled a little. “You’ve had Henry in there for as long as you’ve been around, nagging about what’s going on and what you need to do. It’ll take some adjusting not to have it anymore. It’s gonna be weird but you’ll get used to it. Come on, let’s go see Gabriel and get the murder of good Doctor Jekyll off your head.”

Edward sighed. “I’m scared, Robert. I don’t know what to do how do I prove that I didn’t kill Henry I shouldn’t even exist anyone who hears this will just want me destroyed anyways I’m nothing but a failed experiment!” The blond cried. Robert could see blood on his lip now, handed him a handkerchief to wipe it away.

He seemed to get the hint of that one, wiped his mouth, handed the kerchief back. Robert threw it aside. “Let’s go. Gabriel will not throw you to the wolves, I am almost certain.”

“That makes one of us.” Edward murmured, dragged his feet to the door of Robert’s home, stepped out onto the street. Robert was shortly behind him.

“Where is Utterson’s firm? I never paid attention to where Henry was going whenever he headed off to visit friends, I frankly didn’t care.”

“Fair enough, I suppose. I imagine he didn’t care much about where you went either.” Lanyon remarked. Hyde snickered.

“It bothered him to no end, so he always paid attention. Knew exactly what mischief I got up to.”

Robert considered that. “All things considered, when you admitted your habits included drinking and fucking, I can’t say I blame Henry for the decision to keep an eye on you.” He decided with a teasing smile. His chubby cheeks pushed up, formed a dimple under his left eye.

Hyde was contemplating him a little weirdly, almost like Henry used to. Robert moved and the blond blinked and looked away. “Lets just go see your lawyer friend.” He decided, motioning for Lanyon to lead the way.

Robert nodded, set off toward Utterson’s. Heard Hyde following him, shuffling his feet, scuffling the soles along the gravel.

“No wonder Henry goes through shoes so fast! Pick up your feet, Edward!” He scolded gently.

“They are sort of my shoes, I can do what I want with them.”

“All you did was take the white pieces of Henry’s.”

“Unless suddenly Henry came back to life, they’re mine.” Edward told him calmly. “Henry’s dead now he’s not concerned about his shoes, trust me. If there was a way for him to be, I would know he was. Besides. They were always half mine.”

“Is everything of Henry’s yours?”

“ _In the event of the death or disappearance of Dr. Henry Jekyll, lasting more than three months, his estate and his position at the Society for Arcane Sciences shall be given in full to Mr. Edward Hyde.”_ Edward replied, voice dull, uninterested. “Not that I really want the society, besides, technically those decisions go to you since you know the place and all of that but… yes, technically, what’s Henry’s is now mine. And I have to be involved in the society and a right gentleman about my reputation until I figure out how to give it in full to you.”

“I couldn’t convince you to remain? I could take over Henry’s infernal paperwork, you could remain a contact with a foot into the darker world of science.” Lanyon offered.

“What would that do to the society, me maintaining both sides. It’d be disastrous and you know it, Lanyon. I’d have to give up everything I was created to be.” Edward reminded him. “I’m not made to be the perfect little owner of a business, I’m that man’s reprieve, his evil all smashed into one place.”

“You could still help, especially if we acted it as a front. We can work out what to do with Utterson. Speaking of Utterson, we’re here.” Lanyon walked up and rapped smartly on the door.

A man with light brown hair, glasses, blue eyes that looked a little tired, opened the door. “Robert!” He cried joyfully, gaze fell to Edward. “Mister Hyde.” He seemed a lot less joyful to see the little blond. “What have you brought him here for, Robert?” He asked suspiciously.

“We need a will read. And you need some explanations.” Robert replied.

Gabriel Utterson narrowed his blue eyes. “Who’s will, dare I ask? Typically, wills are read with the benefactors only.” He warned.

“Henry Jekyll’s. I believe we’ve assembled the benefactors.” Robert said quietly. Gabriel’s hands flew over his slack-jawed mouth.

“Henry? Is dead? How?” He demanded, suddenly glaring down at Hyde. “I knew he couldn’t trust you, you sick little freak!”

“Gabriel. Edward didn’t do it. It’s a story you need to hear but Henry killed himself.” Robert said softly, pressed a hand to his friend’s shoulder. “It’s a nasty shock that he’s dead but I believe that Mister Hyde is feeling it more than any of us.”

“How so?” Gabriel asked suspiciously.

“He… he…” Edward didn’t seem to know how tell the story a second time.

“I have reason to believe that Henry Jekyll created Edward Hyde out of himself in the process of an attempt to purge all that is evil and immoral from the human soul. Since that point, they have shared a body, switching between using the original alchemical potion Henry created. I am not crazy, Hyde had not lied to me, I have Henry’s journal that states the case plain as day.” Robert assured the lawyer.

Gabriel frowned at them both. “I suspect there is more to this tale than I’m supposed to believe from your unconvincing rushed tale, Robert.” He remarked. “Why am I to believe that Hyde isn’t just lying to you? Why did you decide to believe this?”

Robert leaned in, spoke over Edward’s head to Gabriel. “What would you suspect would happen to someone whom half of their conscious had just died?”

“They’d go insane.” Gabriel replied in a whisper.

“In addition to the journal Henry kept backing up Hyde’s claim, he is _losing his mind,_ Gabriel. He can’t seem to remember that Henry is dead, is talking to him in mirrors, zoning out…” Robert said softly. “I’ll give you the journal inside. You need to hear Edward out.”

Gabriel sighed, led them both into his office. Tucked his files away, sorted through his filing cabinet until he pulled out his folder labelled _Henry Jekyll._ Sorted through until he found the will.

“I can’t read this with you two until I have proof of passing, or until three months have passed.” He admitted.

“We won’t get proof of passing.” Edward said quietly.

“Why is that?” Gabriel asked.

“There is no body, Mister Utterson.” Edward replied, biting his lip.

“Why is that?”

“Because we shared one body.”

“Then how is he dead when you remain alive, Mister Hyde?” Utterson asked.

“I-I I don’t know. He… he was making something with the same ingredients he used to make the potion we used to switch between the two of us… only it was different… I thought he was going to kill me with it but… but… I thought…”

“It appeared to have merely switched the two of them again, until Edward realized that Henry was not in… he calls it the mirror, since they would appear as each other’s reflections. Nor in his head nagging at him.”

“This is the most fucked up bullshit anyone has ever tried to pull on me! I would expect this from Mister Hyde but you, Robert? Have you no decency?” Gabriel stood, pushing his chair back and leaning down the glared at both Hyde and his friend.

“We aren’t lying!” Hyde cried, pushing his chair back, feet scrambling for purchase so that he would get away from Gabriel’s yelling. God, Lanyon’s heart almost hurt to see the boisterous man so terrified and lost.

“Gabriel, I have Henry’s notes on the experiment. Do you really think I would fall for this? Only an idiot would use this as an excuse when there’s a hundred thousand better ones out there. Who would come up with this unless it was true?” Robert asked patiently, waiting for Gabriel to take his seat again.

Eventually, the lawyer managed to reclaim his cool and sit down. Robert turned around and convinced Edward to approach the desk again. The blond was acting like a frightened animal with it’s hackles up, moving jerkily and slowly. He crept back up to the desk, staring fearfully at Gabriel.

“Give me the journal.” Gabriel instructed, and Robert handed it to him. He leafed through it, peering through his glasses to read Jekyll’s elegant scrawl.

“How far had our friend fallen, Robert?” Gabriel asked softly, biting his lip as he leafed through the entries.

“I’m sitting right here.”

“Shut up, Mister Hyde.” Gabriel warned, and Hyde cowered. It was sort of concerning. Normally Hyde would get straight back into Gabriel’s face and snarl a response at him.

“Never mind Jekyll, Utterson. If word gets out that Jekyll is dead, the lodgers watched him walk in and Hyde walk out. We need to come up with a defense that doesn’t sound insane. The three of us will get locked in a mental institution if we come out with this, Hyde only until the convict and hang him.” Robert told him.

“So, you aren’t just here to read a will that Hyde probably knew I couldn’t read.” Utterson realized. “I’m not sure I really want to find a way to exonerate a man who is supposedly every ounce of Henry Jekyll’s evil, Robert.”

“Please, Mister Utterson. Please.” Hyde said quietly. “I don’t know what else to do, Henry’s gone and…”

“Gabriel, he’s always had Henry to help him, please, just have a little mercy on him.” Robert sighed. “Actually, come here. Edward, stay seated you’ll be okay.”

Robert and Gabriel walked into the next room. Closed the door behind them. “Gabriel, this isn’t all. I have another favour to ask you.” Robert admitted.

“This is ridiculous.” Gabriel told him. “You ask me to help the man that for all any of us know killed our best friend and staged this all?”

“Why would he choose this? We have enough grounds to have him committed why pick this?”

The lawyer sighed. Ran a hand through his hair. “What do you need me to do, Robert? I don’t understand. What else could I possibly do for you?”

“I need to talk to my friend. In psychology. Edward’s losing it and I want a second opinion. I’m not bringing Edward with me, lest the man get him committed for his behaviour, and I don’t dare leave him by himself, with how he’s been acting. None of the lodgers know this story either, so they wouldn’t understand what is going on. So… as well as needing help getting him out of trouble… I need you to watch over Edward while I go see my friend. I can go when you have no appointments, you won’t want him here with anyone else, because you can’t leave him for more than a few minutes. So far the only thing he does is start talking to Henry in his shadow or his reflection.”

Gabriel sighed. “Do you know how much you owe me?” He questioned, raising an eyebrow. “I’m not getting into the habit of babysitting your little imp.” He warned.

“I know. I just need to talk to a doctor who knows how to help him. Hopefully. I can’t even say that he’s losing his mind he’s already lost half of it.” Robert murmured, sighing. “I’m worried about him and he’s all the world has left of Henry Jekyll.”

Utterson sighed. “I know he is, but… he gets up to a fair amount of trouble, you know. I don’t trust him, Robert, maybe he’s telling the truth about this, but… he’s still not trustworthy.”

“I think we can trust him to settle down a little. We still need to help him. Did Henry not make you promise to help him?” Robert questioned. “He mentioned it to me once or twice to try and convince me to help you, I refused. You promised Henry you would help Edward adjust to this.”

Gabriel sighed. “And I’ll tell you the same thing I told Henry. I will never like the sinful little imp, but I will do as you ask.” He conceded.

“You don’t have to. So… three months from now. For the will. As we cannot prove Henry’s death.”

“Yes.” Gabriel agreed. “Come, there is much we should discuss with Edward Hyde.”


	5. Chapter 5

The talk with Gabriel, Edward could tell, was ultimately useless. He was even pretty sure that it was entirely his fault that it was useless, but he felt a mess and could not be bothered to feel bad for it. His mind was empty and it was deafening. A mini version of himself felt like it was running around his brain screaming, trying desperately to find a piece of him that had left for good and left Edward Hyde to pick up not only the pieces of Henry Jekyll’s life, but his own mind as well, which clearly had no idea how to survive without the good doctor’s influence.

Robert did not say a word in complaint. He had witnessed a few times of Edward’s newfound obsession with losing his fucking mind, slowly but surely. God, how much of a mess did you have to be not to remember that half of your entire brain was dead and gone?

“Edward!” Robert snapped his fingers in front of Edward’s green eyes. The blond blinked a few times, realized he’d zoned out, yet again. Great. This day just got better and better. Goddamned Jekyll and his goddamned alchemy and his goddamned selfish suicide. Goddamn it, goddamn it, goddamn it.

“Edward!” Robert repeated, and Edward blinked a few more times.

Great. He couldn’t even focus for ten seconds before going back to Henry. “Yes Robert?”

“I’m going to speak with my friend, the one in psychology. Gabriel is going to watch after you until I get back, do your best not to make his life hell? Please? He already doesn’t like you.” Robert told him, dark eyes round with worry. Edward tried to ignore it. Robert always _sounded_ confident about Hyde’s mental state, more than the blond ever felt about it, maybe the worry was about something else entirely.

Yeah, right. “Edward, are you listening to me?” Even though he may have been tuned out, Lanyon’s voice was calm and patient. Edward nodded vigorously.

“Good. Tell me what I just told you.”

A test. Okay, so he wasn’t trusted. “You’re leaving to talk to that mind doctor guy, I’m staying here with Mister Fancy-pants Lawyer and shouldn’t piss him off.”

“Close enough.” Robert agreed with a sigh. “But you are going to piss someone off if you don’t start using proper titles.”

“I’m the Spirit of London at Night I’m not afraid of pissed off people!” Hyde yawned. “God, I need a coffee.”

“You need a nap. Coffee is terrible for you.”

“Henry drank wine for breakfast and you complain about me drinking coffee. Ugh.” Hyde complained, yawned again, showing off crooked teeth.

“Yeah. I didn’t know about the wine, only suspected. So help me god, Edward, agree willingly or I’ll tell Gabriel to tie you to the bed.” Robert warned.

“My, doctor, I didn’t know you were into that!” Hyde cackled and darted off.

Robert sighed and left the office.

“Mister Hyde, I heard what Lanyon said! Get over here!” Gabriel shouted. Edward heard footsteps clack down the hall after him.

Stopped running when he reached the kitchenet area of Mister Utterson’s office. “Don’t you dare even touch the coffeepot, Hyde, I fully agree with Lanyon!” Gabriel warned, running in seconds after him. “Come on. I will, reluctantly, bring you home so that you can get a nap on a real bed. Don’t start zoning out on me in the middle of the road or I’ll hold your hand and drag you like a toddler.”

Hyde froze, halfway through pouring a mug of coffee, which slowly overflowed while Gabriel was lecturing him and spilled onto his hand. “Ow!” He barely managed to set the mug and pot down before sticking his hand in the small washbasin.

“You are utterly hopeless.” Utterson muttered, grabbed a rag and mopped the coffee off his floor. Threw the rag at Edward, a little irritated already.

To his horror, Edward just picked it up and threw it back at the lawyer after it had splattered into his green and white clothing, and it plopped onto the white shoulder of Utterson’s shirt, immediately staining it.

Quick as a flash, Utterson tore it off and ducked it in the water, not even seeming to realize that he’d left himself standing in nothing but his trousers with a guest in the house until Hyde started giggling.

“Now how’re you getting home, Utty?” He asked. Utterson went bright red when he realized what he’d just done to himself. Hyde giggled some more.

“What, not going to tell me off for harassing your friend, Henry?” He taunted, got silence as a response. Frowned. That was odd. Henry should be yelling at him by now.

Wait.

The blood drained from his face as he realized he had forgotten, yet again, that Henry was dead. He’d been talking to his alter like a complete and utter loony because he had yet again forgotten that Henry Jekyll was dead and he was alone in his own head and no Henry was not going to scold him for harassing Gabriel Henry was dead.

Gabriel sighed. “Come along, Mister Hyde. We shall leave a note for Robert, you could use some sleep. You’ll feel better for it.”

“Could use a drink, too, but that won’t happen.” Hyde muttered.

“Red or white wine? That’s the strongest I can offer you.” Utterson said with a sigh. “But then when we get home you take a nap for a few hours and let me get some work done.”

“White.” Red wine had lost its appeal when Henry drank it all the time. It left a bitter taste in Edward’s mouth. Gabriel grabbed a wine glass and a bottle of chilled white wine, poured them both a glass of it. Handed one to Edward.

He took a sip of the bitter yellowish liquid. He didn’t like wine, but it was a drink so he would deal.

Utterson contemplated him, blue eyes narrowed. He still didn’t have a shirt, it managed to make the situation almost comical. The lawyer had pulled his dress shirt out of the water but it wasn’t like he would wear it home. It was soaked.

Hyde took another gulp of his wine. God, he hated posh drinks. “This is much more to you style, Henry.”

“Mister Hyde… you told me that Doctor Jekyll is dead. Why are you talking to him?” Gabriel asked.

Edward bit his lip. He was losing it. “Because I always have and… and… I keep forgetting…” He breathed, hands shaking, wine wavering in the glass. “I’m losing it, Utterson…” He swallowed hard. “I’m losing my goddamned mind…”

“Why do you say that?” Utterson asked him, sipping his wine.

“Because I keep talking to Henry and he’s not even there!” Edward wailed. “He’s been nagging in my head since day one and I don’t know what to do now that he can’t talk to me!” He was practically hysterical. Utterson bit his lip. Sighed.

“That’s for a doctor to say. Not a lawyer.” Utterson told him.

“What is the legal definition of insanity, Mister Utterson?”

“One, Mental Illness of such a severe nature that a person cannot distinguish fantasy from reality, cannot conduct her/his affairs due to psychosis, or is subject to uncontrollable impulsive behaviour. Insanity is distinguished from low intelligence or mental deficiency due to age or injury-”

“Cannot distinguish fantasy from reality. What do you call this?” Hyde asked pointedly. “I’m talking to a dead man without remembering that he’s dead, Mister Utterson!”

“You could just truly need sleep. Let me grab a coat and we can go, I’ll just button the coat up. We’ll get you settled in to get some sleep at my apartment.”

Hyde sighed. “I would like to go home.” He admitted softly, staring at the ground. He should be grateful someone was helping him, not picky about where they went.

But truly he just wanted to go home.

Utterson since. “You live in SoHo?” He asked.

“Yes.”

“Then very well.” Gabriel agreed. “You’ll be more comfortable in your own home.”

“I have some of Henry’s clothing there they should fit you.”

Gabriel nodded. Reached into his closet, pulled out a coat, buttoned it from collar to the bottom hem. “Are you finished your wine?”

The glass was half full, but Hyde found that he no longer wanted it. His mouth was dry. He settled the glass onto the counter and motioned for Gabriel to lead the way to the door.

“You need to lead me to your apartment, Mister Hyde, I have never been to it.” Utterson reminded him as Edward tugged on his hat. The blond nodded, walked through the door, squinting in the dying sunlight.

With a sigh, Utterson followed him, pinning a note to the door telling Lanyon where to find Hyde, though not necessarily admitting that Utterson himself had gone with the blond. Gabriel did not want to return to find someone had smashed a window and robbed his office, he had too many important files in there. Wills, files on court cases, all sorts of things. He couldn’t afford to get robbed.

Hyde walked down the gravel road, distinctly silent. Gabriel was fairly sure in all the time he had known Edward Hyde, silent had never been a word he could use to describe the man. Edward Hyde was obnoxious, boisterous and all around enjoyed making life difficult for people. All the time. Hyde knew it well and intentionally kept it up.

Suddenly, the little man spun on his heel. Turned to grin at Utterson, mischief sparkling in his green eyes. “Care for a little fun?” He asked. His teeth were crooked, maybe a little squished in his mouth. Without waiting for a response, he scampered to the side of a building, of which he promptly scaled the wall and scrambled onto the roof, shingles crumbling a little at the edges under his weight. “Come up here!” He called down to Utterson.

“I most certainly cannot, Mister Hyde!”

“It’s dusk, reputations are out the window! Get up here! Or don’t you fancy a little fun?” He taunted, sprinting down the rooftops and leaping to the next, agile like a cat, though his foot slipped a little. The man lunged forwards, caught a chimney and kept himself upright and on the roof. “Adds a little spice of adventure! Come on, I know the way better this way. You won’t fall more than once!”

Hyde got the feeling that Utterson utterly did not want to go up onto the roof. But he wasn’t really going to give the lawyer a choice. Gabriel sighed, walked over to the building Hyde was standing on top of. “Help me up, then.”

Another huge grin on Hyde’s face. He scurried to the edge, dangled a hand down for Utterson to reach up to, helped pull the lawyer up with strength he should not have possessed for such a small man. Utterson managed to pull himself up onto the shingles, had to stand for a minute or two to adjust to the angle. Hyde giggled to himself. “No one follows me here except Henry, and he doesn’t get a choice because he’s right…” He glanced down at his shadow. Apparently, it looked the same to him as it did to Gabriel. Like Hyde’s silhouette. “Right. He’s not here anymore. He used to be here with me and he’d nag at me to do whatever he needed me to do, no straight up fun with that man whatsoever.” He put on his best impression of Henry’s voice. “Come on, Hyde, there’s work to be done! Stop messing around!” He giggled a little, mostly to himself. Never had he ever listened to those orders, of course. Henry Jekyll could blather away and do work on his own damned time. Hyde’s time was Hyde’s time.

Now the rest of Hyde’s life was his time. The thought was like a punch in the chest. He stumbled for a second, Utterson had to catch him lest he fall off the roof.

He was completely unprepared to spend his life alone in his own head. For a normal person, it would be nothing. For Hyde it was like losing a limb. Henry Jekyll was gone.

“Mister Hyde? Are you alright?” Utterson asked, looking a little concerned. “You look unwell.”

“Quite.” Edward said, though whether it was about the unwell or the alright was a mystery. He scampered down the roof and leapt to the next one, cloak flying out behind him. Landed on the next one with a thump, turned back to see Utterson standing at the edge of the building Hyde had been on just a few seconds before. He sighed. “Back up, five steps, take a running leap. It’s not far.” He encouraged. “It’s only an eight foot fall you won’t break anything. You’ll get some nasty bruises but no breaks.”

Utterson bit his lip, backed up a fair number of steps, ran them and leapt. Was thrilled to feel shingles crunch under his feet but they immediately started sliding out form under him.

Hyde grabbed his wrist, grunted and pulled his back up. “Time for me to tell you something you won’t like!” He laughed.

“What? I have to do that again?”

“On the contrary. This is my house, you could have just climbed down.”

Like a cat or a rat, whichever you preferred, Edward scurried down the side of the building, landing gracefully on his feet, pulled out his key and stuffed it into the lock. Twisted it, felt the lock clunk open and turned the doorknob to open his little house, more of an apartment, it was rented and attached to several others like it, with a flourish. “Welcome to my home!” He turned around to see Gabriel just barely making it to the ground without falling. “Probably should have taught you how to get down.” He remarked, stepping in the door and leading the way to the little bedroom.

The place was… not the best. The ceilings were high, though it was clear Hyde needed to dust sometime soon, and sweep. Though his things actually sat on hooks and shelves, he had not done any dishes in easily a week, and the walls, though this was not his fault, were painted a grimy looking shade of drab grey. It was nothing like Henry’s home, this was clearly just a hideout for Hyde and something to appease suspicion about the man, so that he did have his own home.

Hyde did not bother removing his cloak, hat or shoes. Walked to his bedroom, dug into the bottom drawer of his dresser and pulled out a white dress shirt to large for him, so it must have been Henry’s. “There’s a red waistcoat in here are well, if you would like.” He offered. “And a red cravat, lord knows how anyone figures those damned things out.” He remarked.

“Alright, remember what you promised Lanyon and I?” Gabriel asked him, taking the shirt and the waistcoat, but leaving the cravat.

“That I would get some sleep?”

“Exactly.”

Hyde sighed, unclasped his cloak and let it fall to the ground, threw his hat at the desk and kicked his shoes off.

Laid down on his bed, which was small and the fittings could use a good wash, curled himself into the blankets, closed his eyes, and was asleep within a few minutes.


	6. Chapter 6

“How is he?” Lanyon asked softly, stepping the door to Hyde’s small, dingy apartment that apparently, he liked, since he had convinced Gabriel to take him there. Robert had barely found it, given that Henry had only mentioned the address once or twice, so Robert had been required to find the block and pace along it for a few minutes to remind himself of the exact address his friend had once told him.

“Sleeping.” Gabriel revealed, sighing. “And this man has nothing worth eating or drinking in his house, its terrible.” He was sitting in a small, worn out stuffed chair. It was ragged like the rest of the apartment.

“What happened to your shirt? Isn’t that one of Henry’s?” Robert asked him, pulling the wooden chair out of the dining room to sit down. This was a building built to house one person, and furnished the same.

“He spilled coffee all over my floor,” Gabriel began, sounding more than a little exasperated. Robert cut him off nearly immediately.

“You let him have coffee? Gabriel!” He scolded.

“No, I didn’t! He spilled it while I was lecturing him about not having it and listening to you. I mopped it up with a rag and threw it at him. He threw it back.” Utterson replied with a tired sigh. “And splattered coffee all over my shoulder.”

“Where did Henry’s clothes come from?” Robert asked him.

“Hyde’s dresser. Now get settled in, I’m going to get some food and a bottle of white wine. Can I get you anything?” The lawyer offered.

“Something to eat would be lovely, I shared a bottle of wine with the psychologist so no need for that.” Robert decided, stepping in the small bedroom attached to the living room to check on his charge. The little blond was worrying him more and more as the day progressed.

The blond was nestled tightly into the threadbare blanket, snoring softly, sound asleep. His brilliant green eyes were closed. Only a part of his face and his fluffy blond hair poked out from under the blankets. He finally seemed a little peaceful. “How did you convince him to get some rest?” Lanyon asked before Utterson could leave the house.

“He had half a glass of wine, decided that he wanted to go home, I didn’t bother to argue with him. He led me here after making me climb on a fucking rooftop!” Gabriel complained. “He’s like a fucking monkey! Either way… he thinks he’s losing his mind, Robert.” The lawyer murmured. “He made me tell him the definition, the legal definition, of insanity. And… he may be right that part of it fits.” The lawyer sighed. “It is a bit of a mess.”

“So did the psychologist.” Robert revealed with a sigh. “After deciding that I might now be. He threatened Bedlam though. For bother myself when I suggested the hypothetical situation and Edward when he realized it might not be hypothetical.”

“That is… not great. Bedlam is pretty serious.” Gabriel said softly. “Anyways. I shall bring us that food.”

“Have fun.” Gabriel left and Robert was about to go settle into the living room when Edward spoke. His voice was quiet, it was rather odd.

“So. Bedlam. Great.”

Clearly Hyde had not been as asleep as he had pretended to be. Robert sighed.

“Psychologists have never seen a case such as yourself, Edward, and when they do not know what to do they resort to locking away and hiding the evidence of their shortcomings. Most people do not split their souls in half. It does not mean you any trouble.”

“It means I’m going insane, Robert! They don’t put sane people in Bedlam!” Edward retorted. He still had not moved. Was curled up on his side, only his mop of blond hair visible. Burrowed into the ratty black blanket. “I’m insane and even the psychologist who never saw me can tell you that! I’m fucking batshit fucking crazy! Fucking great!” He spat.

“Edward, you are not crazy. Stop this!” Robert told him, walking over and sitting on the edge of the bed, holding his shoulder and squeezing it. “We have yet to figure out exactly what is wrong with you but you are not crazy. I promise. You will be fine.” He muttered. “Now why the bloody hell don’t you have any food in this damned apartment?”

“I go out to taverns to eat. And… Henry doesn’t eat at all so there’s no point in having anything here for him to eat.” Edward replied. “Same with drinks. Utterson went to get food, didn’t he?” The blond asked curiously.

“Yes.”

“Do you think there will be anything for me?” Edward asked, finally shifting out from under the covers to look up at Robert, green eyes bright with a little excitement. “I’m starving.” He admitted.

“Shouldn’t you get some more sleep?” Robert asked him, glancing at the clock in the room, covered in dust, but still tick tick ticking. “It’s midnight you should sleep until morning, you will feel better rested.” The doctor suggested.

Edward shook his head. Sat up. Straightened out his rumpled clothes. “Nope. Tonight, I am the Spirit of London at Night, and I go to drink to Henry. Will you come with me?” He offered.

“Right now? I just sent Gabriel to get me something to eat I’m not leaving with you right now!” Robert protested as Hyde scurried around the room, throwing his cloak back over his shoulders, grabbing his hat and shoes. He looked up at Lanyon like he hadn’t even considered the idea of waiting for Gabriel to return.

Sighed, sat down on his bed. “Fine, fine, we will wait for Gabriel Utterson to bring you something to eat, and then we drink to Henry. Come on, drinking is the only thing I can do right in this damned place!” Edward told him, frustrated. “Even being crazy can’t take my ability to drink, surely! No matter how crazy I am!”

Robert sighed. “I told you that you are not crazy.” He insisted, as Gabriel walked back through the door.

“Robert?” He handed the man a sandwich, considered the room. “Oh! Mister Hyde! You’re awake! I brought you a sandwich as well.” He held it out to the blond, who was still sitting on the edge of his bed, ready to leave the apartment. “Where are you going, Mister Hyde?” He asked.

“To drink. To Henry.” Edward replied, sighing. “Robert’s coming with me, will you?” He invited, stuffing a bite of his sandwich into his mouth, tearing into it like a creature who had not seen food in weeks. He gulped it down, smiled at Gabriel. “Told Robert that drinking is the only thing that I do right.”

“I suppose.” Gabriel agreed, sighing. “Yeah, I’ll go with you.” He yawned. “It’s going to be a long night. No more running across rooftops, got it Mister Hyde?” The lawyer ordered, glaring at the blond.

“No promises for me but I can arrange for it for you two! I like the rooves!”

Robert didn’t dare argue with him about it, goddamn it all the man was happy again, finally happy! Edward Hyde was grinning and cracking jokes and excited to go out, it was a fucking miracle. Hyde was happy again.

Edward had scarfed down his sandwich and was bouncing on his feet, waiting for his… god only knew what Hyde thought they were. Friends? Acquaintances? To be ready to leave.

But he was smiling so Robert didn’t dare disturb it. He ate his sandwich quick as he could, keeping a close eye on his blond charge for a sudden change in attitude, something that the psychologist had warned him Hyde would likely have, as a symptom of losing half his mind. But Hyde continued smiling and chattering like a starling to Utterson while Robert went to get his cloak and hat. Even when he returned, he feared the conversation would have returned to tears or arguing about insanity.

But Hyde was still babbling on and on about something to Gabriel. Robert heard the name Jekyll in his speech, but it wasn’t accompanied by anything bad, at least. Just a funny story about Henry. Utterson was nodding along, eating his sandwich and sipping some wine, but not interrupting. He looked a little overwhelmed, which was sort of impressive. Hyde was losing the lawyer in his chatter. All Gabriel managed to do was nod along and hope that there were no questions at the end.

Robert smiled to himself. “So, Edward? Are we going out drinking or what?” He stepped into the conversation right around when Gabriel was looking a little too dizzy from following this story. The man flashed him a relieved smile.

Hyde jumped to his feet, running over to the door. “Yes! Yes, we are let’s go!” He declared, opening the door into the dirty London streets, full of hustle and bustle even at midnight. No wonder Hyde liked the area, it was his sort of place. He would adore the bustle of the city, the blocks that didn’t sleep until he did. “Gabriel! Let’s go!” He cried, bouncing around as he waited for Utterson to grab his things and be ready to go.

“Hey! I’m not your friend, Mister Hyde, you can refer to me as Mister Utterson.” Gabriel scolded.

“Oh, up yours, Mister Gabriel! Let’s go!” Hyde sing-songed, grinning like mad. “You’re stalling! You told me you would come now grab your coat and let’s get going!” He insisted, leaning halfway out the door, clinging to the doorframe.

“Ugh. You’re impossible, Mister Hyde.” Gabriel complained, throwing on his coat and walking over to the door. Robert only laughed and followed.

“Have you got money, Edward?” The blond spun on his heel to face Lanyon, scoffed.

“No, I have a tab with most bars on this half of the city! I don’t need any money!” Hyde replied with a laugh, and continued prancing down the London street like he owned the whole city. Within a few more steps he made his way to a building, scurried up the wall and onto the roof.  Grinned down at Robert and Gabriel. “Follow me, boys! Either down there or up here but you’d best keep up!” He called down, and took off like a shot. Robert and Gabriel were left with no choice but to run down the street, chasing after the little blond blur on the rooftops.

Hyde was unfairly fast along the rooves, jumping from roof to roof with ridiculous agility.

Until… suddenly, he was gone. Not darting from roof to roof, just… gone. Where on earth had the little blond imp gone off to? How did he just vanish like that?

“Edward!” Robert called, narrowing his eyes and looking around.

“What? Hurry up!” Hyde protested, tapping his foot irritably outside of a tavern. “God, don’t you two pay attention at all? I got down half a block ago! Goddammit guys you’re hopeless!” He complained. “Get in here!” He instructed, and ducked into the bar.

“Edward! Long time without seeing you around here!” A female voice called. “You want me to-”

“Not tonight, darling, I got company.” Edward replied with a smile, kissed her quickly and walked over to the counter just as Robert and Gabriel walked in. She wandered off, shot him one last teasing glance.

“Who was that?” Robert asked. Raised an eyebrow. His eyes followed the scantily clad woman.

“A friend of mine.” Edward replied with a grin. “Oi! Three drinks for me and those two!” He motioned to Robert and Gabriel, ushered for them to sit down. Robert sighed.

“Have you got money?”

“Hell no!” Edward replied, and three mugs were slammed down in front of him anyways, by another woman whom, in Robert’s opinion, was not wearing nearly enough clothing. “Thank you, darlin’!”

“Bring money next time, Eddie. What are they here for? They ain’t your type.” The barmaid was leaning over the bar, offering a nice view of her mostly exposed breast. “You don’t go for… the posh upstandin’ type.”

Gabriel gagged. “Really ain’t your type.” She giggled. Hyde rolled his eyes.

“Drinkin’ to a friend of mine who got himself killed. He wasn’t from this side o’ town, I convinced these blokes to join me to toast him. They’re a bit posh, so maybe tone down the…”

The woman smirked. Sat up a little. Robert relaxed, a touch. “’ho’re you drinkin’ to?” she asked.

“Just a friend o’ mine.” Edward replied, and the woman backed off to let him pick up his glass. “Told you I didn’t need money, just a voice and a story.” He said with a smirk.

“What is in there?” Gabriel asked.

“Something to have you slurring quicker than wine.” He slid one over to Gabriel, another to Robert. Held his mug up. “A toast?”

“To Henry Jekyll.” Robert replied, holding his mug up.

“To Henry Jekyll.” Gabriel echoed, holding his own glass up.

“To Henry Jekyll!” Edward repeated, clinked his mug into the others, took a deep swig from it. Robert did the same, coughed, choked, listened to Mister Hyde laugh at him until he managed to breathe properly again.

“What the hell is that?” Robert demanded, glaring at the blond.

“Absinthe.” Edward replied, snickering. “Which you have clearly never had before.” He added, took another swig. Robert didn’t feel better until he realized that Gabriel had had the exact same reaction. “Take small sips, darling, small sips.” He finished the rest of his drink, slammed it into the wooden counter, waved to the barmaid. “Oi! Another over here!” He shouted.

“Piss off!” The woman retorted with a laugh, but walked over with the jug anyways, refilled the mug.

“Thank you love!”

“Call me that again and I lay you flat, Eddie!” The woman warned, but her smile was good-natured.

“You say that every time.”

“And every time you stop.” She replied.

Edward shrugged and took another sip. Sighed. “This is…” he turned to Gabriel and Robert, sighed again. Trouble flashed in his green eyes. He bit his lip. “This is a little festive and bustling for Henry, isn’t it?” He realized. Set the mug to the side, rested his chin on his hand. “He wasn’t like this, why should I be celebrating, he doesn’t like celebrations or places like this.” He muttered.

Robert sighed. He should have seen this one coming. “Edward, you keep worrying but Henry gave up. You get to breathe now. This is up to you and I think Henry would want you to celebrate his life. He knows what you’re like and he wouldn’t stop you from doing it, if he wanted to he would have stuck around. Celebrate his life for god’s sakes don’t start crying again please.” The doctor insisted. “Drink your drink we’ll get you home and you can mope there.”

Edward sighed, finished his drink. Waved the barmaid off when she tried to fill it up. “God, just when I thought that Henry couldn’t ruin my drinking.” He remarked. Huffed. “I think that’s the worst thing, Robert. I just… don’t know anymore. What I should do, what he would have done, anything.”

Robert had a lot of fake advise he could have offered. In the end, it was pointless. He simply stayed silent.


	7. Chapter 7

_Crash!_

Robert awoke to the sound of loud cursing, and pans crashing into the wooden floor.

He groaned. Opened his eyes. He was not in his own apartment, he was in fact in the small apartment he had only seen for the first time last night.

It was Hyde’s apartment. Robert was sitting on a small, patchy, torn up chair with half of the stuffing ripped out, his back ached from being curled up on the badly upholstered chair. More clanging and banging ensued, a few more curses, and the it stopped.

There had been far too late for them to try and get back to Lanyon or Utterson’s, where the three of them may have been more comfortable, or rather, two, as it likely would have been Lanyon’s house and Utterson returning to his home.

But the absinthe had ruled that one out, and the late hour. So, it had been back to Hyde’s apartment, where Hyde promptly crashed onto his bed and began snoring. Rather loudly.

To be fair, his spirits had returned and he had drank down a fair amount of absinthe. Far more than Gabriel or Robert had managed, even collectively. Robert was quite proud that he had managed to choke down just his one mug, Gabriel managed not even that. The lawyer had never once managed to hold his liquor, not at all. He and Henry, god, his beloved Henry, whom had left nothing but the blond currently crashing around in the fucking kitchen, had learned of Utterson’s intolerance to alcohol after a few nights of partying during college. The lawyer had been sicker than a dog.

As he imagined Hyde should be. Why should he be exempt of alcohol poisoning and illness? He had seemed far more than a little drunk last night, surely that should have carried over and he should still be sick?

Sighing, Robert placed his feet on the ground, the ice-cold flooring under his bare feet. He stood, the floor creaking under his feet, walking over to the kitchen, glaring at the little blond, who’s mouth hung open, about to take a bite of an apple. “What?” He asked, crunched his bite anyways, chewed with his mouth open, juice dripping down his chin. He was far too alert for a man who had drank so much alcohol last night. His eyes were red and puffy, probably from crying, his skin perhaps a little paler than before, but not much worse for wear.

“First of all, that’s repulsive close your mouth. Gross. I don’t want to see your apple after you’ve chewed it into bits. Second, what the hell was all that crashing about?” Robert demanded, narrowing his brown eyes further.

Hyde shrugged. “I thought I had bread in the cabinet, I was going to make a sandwich. As it turned out, I have a lot of pots and pans that don’t quite fit in the pantry in the pantry.” He replied with a grin. Swallowed, took another bite of the apple, though this time he respected the comment on not showing off the chewed-up pieces in his mouth. “They fell out. Landed on me. Terribly rude.” He remarked with a sigh.

“You _did_ have bread in the cupboard. When I got here and you fell asleep, I went looking for something to eat and found something that may have once been a loaf of bread, but it was entirely molded. I threw it out. As with the cheese and the rotten milk in your fridge that poured in lumps and made the entire kitchen smell rank, Mister Hyde.” Utterson remarked, stepping into the room. Straightening his glasses and smoothing down his clothes, Henry’s clothes, actually, as he walked. “And whatever else rotten food you had left in here for god knows how long.”

Hyde shrugged again. Took another bite of his apple. “I don’t get here very often, Gabe. Gotta listen to what Henry says, show up where it’s convenient for him, all that jazz. Lucky I have any food in here at all!” He replied with his mouth full. More juice on his chin. Robert handed him a handkerchief.

“For god’s sakes, Edward, learn just a few manners. Please. I beg you.” The doctor told him.

Hyde snickered. “I am told that I have very good hookup manners, does that not count?” He teased, gave a wide, crooked-toothed grin. Lanyon sighed.

“No.”

“Damn. Then no, I don’t really have an interest in learning any manners.” Hyde decided. Finished his apple, threw out the core.

Edward was the only one in the house with the ability to get dressed, though he had not. He had shed the green waistcoat from last night, wore only an unbuttoned white dress shirt and black slacks. It was a little awkward, to say the least, a little interesting. The little imp was rather hairy. Though Robert supposed it was blond and likely did not bother people much.

“Hey now, Robert, stop staring, I’m not Henry.” Edward scolded, rolled his green eyes. “Come on, we’ve been over this one!” He accused, crossing his arms, glaring at Lanyon.

There was something of Henry’s own accusing stare in his gaze. Lanyon looked away. “My bad.” He conceded, though he had not meant to be staring like he had used to at Henry, he was just a little curious. This man was rather weird, after all.

“Yeah, whatever. What’s on the agenda this time?” Edward asked.

“You getting dressed.” Robert replied. “Gabriel…”

“Going home, I think. There is precious little I can do until Henry is reported missing.” Gabriel replied.

“Fair point.” Robert agreed. “As for Edward and me, I shall run home and change into a pair of fresh clothing, and then we must go to the society and inform the lodgers of Henry’s… disappearance.”

“We? The place is yours now! I’m just the gossip who goes out and gets myself into trouble!” Edward protested. “I don’t have a share of the society until three months from now, and I don’t want it!”

“You were Henry Jekyll, or at the very least a facet of him.” Robert sighed. “And they know that you were the last one to see Henry when he was alive. You had best present yourself.” Robert explained. Edward raised an eyebrow.

“It’s not like I can tell them the truth, Robert!”

“Are you sure about that? They are scientists who would understand the chemical solution Henry had made better than I did, and if we have proof to convince a lawyer, we have enough proof to convince scientists.”

“The brain doctor buddy of yours said bedlam.” Edward tapped his foot on the ground. “I would like to keep the people who believe me to be head sick on an anonymous basis with me.”

“Too late, Mister Hyde.” Utterson muttered. Robert glared at him.

“Not helping, Gabriel!” Robert scolded.

“If you don’t believe me you could always drink the potion!” Hyde suggested with a vile grin. “Find out what it makes of you!”

“No!” Robert snarled, glared at the little blond, who to his credit and insolence, didn’t flinch. “We ought to get rid of that stuff, Edward, and I certainly never want to hear you suggest that again!” The doctor ordered. Hyde didn’t respond.

“Let’s just go.” The blond said after a moment. He left the room, and walked into his bedroom. Presumably and hopefully to get dressed.

“This is going to be fun.” Robert muttered.

“You knew he was like this, that attitude, the shitty attitude, had to return at some point.” Gabriel remarked. “I’m not going to drink that shit, don’t worry, Robert.”

“I know you won’t. I’m still hoping another attitude will wear off on him at some point.” Robert remarked with a sigh.

There was a smash from the other room. Robert sighed and walked into the bedroom.

Saw blood and shattered glass, sparkling like diamonds on the ground.

Blood on Edward’s hand. The shattered glass was from a broken flask. Robert skirted around the shattered glass, escorted the blond out of the room. “You tried that potion again, didn’t you?”

“Yes.” Hyde agreed, sighed. Flicked his hand. Splattered blood in a flurry of droplets on his floor. Robert grabbed his arm and dragged him to the bathroom.

“You know it isn’t going to work.”

“But part of me wants to try anyways.” Hyde said softly. Stared at the floor. “Even though I know it will never work.”

“You need to stop. I’m going to have to stitch this.” Lanyon scolded. “Gabriel!” He shouted, then paused. “How hungover are you still, Edward?” He asked the blond.

“Not very.”

“We need bandages, a needle and thread, and some whiskey, Gabriel.” Lanyon instructed the lawyer as he ran over.

“I have all but the sewing supplies here.” Hyde told him.

“Oh. Well, it would be best… we’ll bring the whiskey to my home and use my own supplies.” Lanyon decided. Hyde nodded.

“What will we use for right now?” He asked. “I don’t particularly want to bleed all the way back to your house, Robert.”

“I’ll wrap it up for now. You’ll be okay.” Lanyon assured him. “Take a swing from the bottle now.” He advised, as Gabriel walked up with the bottle of whiskey. Hyde nodded, took a big gulp from the bottle. Set it to the side, went to go fetch the bandages from one of his many cabinets. Returned them to Lanyon, who wrapped them tightly around his wounded hand.

Hyde sighed, walked over to the door. Robert followed him quickly, carrying the bottle of whiskey with him. God, he did not want Edward to feel this, not one bit. Hands were sensitive that was going to hurt like a bitch.

“Well, Robert, this shall be where we part ways.” Gabriel announced, and moved for the door.

“Goodbye!” Robert said cheerfully. Let the lawyer run off.

Walked Hyde back to his home, sat him down and made him take another drink from the bottle of whiskey.

“Close your eyes, and relax your hand.” Lanyon advised, went and grabbed a needle and thread. Hyde took another sip from the bottle, did exactly as Lanyon had said. Leaned his head back against the chair, left his hand hanging loosely off the arm of the chair.

Lanyon walked over, unwrapped the bandages, wiped the blood away with a wet cloth, Edward winced.

“Take another sip.” Robert advised. It was taken. “And another, and another. You don’t want to feel the needle.”

Edward drained about half of what was left in the bottle and leaned back again.

Sighing, Robert threaded the needle, observed the cut on Hyde’s hand carefully, and began to sew it back shut. Hyde grit his teeth, wincing as every stitch went in but did not say a word. Clearly, he still felt more than Robert had wanted him to. The poor little imp. The doctor left him to breathe while he dressed, found some old clothing that would fit Hyde, since the blond had never put on fresh clothes.

Returned. Hyde was still leaning back on the chair, eyes squeezed shut.

“Edward?”

“Shut up, Henry.”

“I’m not Henry.”

Green eyes opened, stared at Robert, blinked a few times. “Oh, god…” Edward groaned, hid his face in his good hand. “Oh god how on Earth did I mistake you for Henry you don’t even sound like Henry!”

“Could just be the familiar voice. Your mind went with the first familiar voice it knows that would have bothered you. Henry’s.” Robert suggested, crouching down and wrapping the freshly stitched up hand in a clean white bandage, watched a bit of blood spot through the cloth. It was nothing major, so he opted to let it be. “You should get dressed, I found some clothes that should fit you.” He recommended.

“I have clothes at the society.”

“Bad enough you walked halfway through town with your shirt unbuttoned, you aren’t going the rest of the way.” Robert told him firmly. “Take that off, don’t argue. I’m not letting you fiddle with buttons, you’ll tear my stitches already.”

“What did I say about my stripping in front of you?” Edward asked. “I tend to try my best to burn was Henry was willing to do with you out of my mind, I’m not following suit.”

“I’m not asking you to, you perverse little imp. This isn’t sexual, merely concern for my patient.” Robert assured him with a sigh. “Now, off with that shirt, I have another that should fit you.”

Hyde sighed, carefully pulled off the unbuttoned white dress shirt. The rest of his chest was likewise to the part Robert had already seen, rather covered in coarse blond hair. His arms as well.

“Stop that, you’re making this worse.” Edward complained, folding his arms to cover himself.

“Don’t you shave?”

“Not my arms! God, Robert, just shut up and follow what _you_ said you were going to do, which was not letting my button up my goddamned shirt!” Hyde scolded.

Robert sighed, pulled the shirt over the blond’s shoulders, waited until he moved his arms, pulled the sleeves on. Buttoned up the front.

Pulled a waistcoat on, buttoned that up as well. “Alright, good enough. Let’s go.” He decided, helping Hyde to his feet.

The blond shuffled his feet to the door, opened it, stepped out onto the street. “Let me guess, the whiskey is the only pain relieve you have to offer me.” He remarked. “I probably should not start drinking again this early in the day.”

Robert sighed. “I’m afraid you’ve got it right. I don’t have any magic pain-away, it’s kinda just a fact of having stitches, it’ll hurt you. No matter what.”

Edward sighed and kept walking, apparently, he at least knew the way back to the society, to the large wooden doors and into the overly packed full of ridiculous contraptions lobby. Robert looked around, tried to see if there was anything there that he did not recognize, was thankfully spared of the shock of finding out Henry had added yet another stray, object of person, to his immense collection that lived on without him inside these walls.

Hyde ignored all the things, except for a longing glance when he passed any reflective surface. Robert genuinely wished he had a way to help him.

But really, there was nothing to be done. Henry was gone and Edward would come to terms with it, though how, Robert didn’t fully know. It would take time. It would take adjusting. And it would hurt, a lot. It wasn’t easy for Robert to lose his lover, either.

A pale faced man walked up to Hyde. Stopped him short in his tracks. The almost-stranger had white hair, pale, pale, pale blue eyes. And a very accusing, angry stare. “Where the hell is Jekyll, Mister Hyde?” He demanded.

“Ah. Griffin. Funny you should ask…” Hyde rubbed the back of his head with his good hand. Smiled a little nervously. As though summoned by Griffin’s question, a few dozen more faces popped out around the lobby. Robert managed to recognize Jasper Kaylock from the other day, Rachel Pidgley, Missus Cantilupe, the mostly hidden face of Mister Mosley, Mister Sinnett, whom, as per usual, looked like his narrowly escaped a fire, Mister Luckett, who did not appear to have escaped the fire, and many other faces he knew but could not name.

It was clear Henry’s whole gang was here. The questions flew. “Where is Jekyll?” “What happened to him?” “Weren’t you here last night, Hyde?” “Why is the kitchen on fire?”

They lost Miss Pidgley and Mister Luckett after that one, of course.

Edward gulped, pulled himself up a little straighter. “Henry…” He trailed off. Swallowed again. “Doctor Jekyll is…” Faltered a second time.

“Spit it out already!” A brunet with goggles perched on his forehead and dark green eyes shouted.

“Doctor Jekyll is gone.”

All hell broke loose.


	8. Chapter 8

Lanyon still did not know what Hyde intended to say.

He was standing in the centre of the entrapping mob of screaming, fury-spiting lodgers, just staring a little under the level of everyone’s faces, he was too short to look above them to zone out.

The crowd was closing in closer and closer and suddenly Lanyon wasn’t even convinced that Hyde knew what he was going to tell the lodgers, and this was not something that should be done by instinct.

Lanyon cleared his throat. “Ladies and gentlemen, if you want an explanation you must give Mister Hyde some space!” He scolded. “Mobbing him will do no one any good.”

It did nothing. The crowd continued to press in towards the blond.

“What do you mean, gone?”

“Is Doctor Jekyll dead?”

“Did you kill him?”

“How did you know?”

“Why were you here yesterday? Don’t you ‘work’ a night shift? It was the morning when I saw you!” Rachel had walked back into the room.

“Jekyll isn’t dead, is he? He can’t be dead!” Jasper called. His hazel eyes were filled with fear. Jekyll had just recently taken him out of the hands of the police, twice. If Jekyll was gone Jasper probably thought he was through.

Finally, Edward spoke up. Despite the fact that this situation, with the lodgers who all either tolerated him or almost liked him all turned against him, was obviously freaking him out, his voice managed to be loud enough to hear over the shouting coming from the lodgers. “Jekyll is dead.” He declared, just the right amount of sadness in his voice, Lanyon knew now that that wasn’t an act, Edward was actually distraught.

“How?” Cantilupe demanded.

“Suicide.” Hyde replied unsteadily. Bit his lip.

“Where is his body?” One of the many lodgers demanded, a hand on their hip. Robert thought he recognized them as Virginia Ito. “If he’s dead there has to be a body.”

“There isn’t one.” Edward said honestly. Robert cursed him under his breath. Rachel walked up beside the doctor.

“He’s lost his bloody mind! How could there be no body?” Archer demanded. Rachel bit into her lip.

“Just hear him out, please.” Robert called.

“You’re defending him, doctor Lanyon? He probably killed Jekyll, buried or burned the or destroyed the body somehow and now is telling us there’s no body to be found so that we can’t discover it was him!” Griffin accused, glaring at Hyde with suspicious red eyes.

Rachel looked up at Robert. “Doctor Lanyon?”

“Yes, Miss Pidgley?” He replied, looking over to her.

“Is he telling the truth?” She asked, voice quiet and shy. “That Master Jekyll is dead and there is no body?”

“Yes. To the best of my knowledge, it is.” Lanyon said.

“How is there no body?”

“I do not know how to prove that without sounding mad. And I fear that Mister Hyde does not either.” Robert said honestly. “Who here is skilled in neo-alchemy?” He asked Rachel curiously. “They may be able to help prove what is going on around here.”

“Virginia is Doctor Jekyll’s pupil.” Rachel replied. “Can you prove it before they tear Master Hyde apart?” She asked.

“I shall simply bring him along with me, Miss Pidgley.” Lanyon decided. “Could you bring miss…”

“Ito?”

“Miss Ito here please?” Robert requested. “I shall fetch Mister Hyde. Miss Ito and he need discuss something that he cannot explain correctly and scientifically, she-”

“They.”

“They may be able to.” Robert said. “Mister Jekyll understood it but alas he has left it to Mister Hyde to explain.”

“Who doesn’t get it. Whatever it is.” Rachel inferred.

“Precisely.”

Rachel walked off. Robert began pushing his way through the throng of people to get back to Edward, who was no longer even trying to be heard over the ruckus, not bothering to try and answer questions, was instead keeping his head down and mouth shut as insults and accusations hurled themselves towards him.

“Enough!” Robert yelled, voice booming out over the flurry of angry words. “Mister Hyde is not lying to you. This is a scientific nightmare, which the lot of you should appreciate.”

“But how is a missing body science?” Archer asked skeptically, folding his arms, raising an eyebrow.

“You will see. But you will need to let me borrow Miss Ito and Mister Hyde.”

“I’m not letting you take a potential murderer!” Griffin snapped.

“Then you can come with us.” Lanyon invited. “I won’t let him go. He just needs to speak to Miss Ito.”

Griffin glared at him.

“If you’re too scared-”

“Mister Hyde!” Robert snarled. “Shut your fucking mouth! Now!”

Edward cowered. Robert felt a twinge of guilt but it did manage to shut the blond up. And probably freak him out even further.

“Rachel said you needed me?” A woman in a long, slim skirt, apron and with goggles perched on her- their head, a knowing look on their face.

Miss Virginia Ito.

“Yes. I have notes and formulas and doctor Jekyll wrote. And a story that makes everyone involved sound mad. But it is alchemy.” Robert explained. “Mister Griffin? Will you be accompanying us?”

“I will.” Archer offered. Hyde noticeably bit back a comment.

The shitty attitude was clearly mostly back. Robert sighed. “Very well. The notes are in Doctor Jekyll’s study.”

The sea of lodgers parted as Hyde, Lanyon, Ito and Archer headed for the study.

Rachel joined the little trail of people. Walked up to Hyde. “What is going on?” She asked.

“You wouldn’t believe me if I told you, Rachel.”

“Well start telling he, Mister Hyde.” Miss Ito instructed. “Since I’m expected to make sense of something you don’t understand.”

“Wait until we reach the study.” Lanyon told her.

“Why?” Archer asked.

“That way no one call Bedlam without the full explanation.” Hyde muttered.

“Hyde! You are helping no one’s case!” Robert said sharply. Hyde looked down at the ground, silent.

Lanyon opened the door to the study.

It was still a mess. Splashes of red and green chemicals covered the desk and floor. Broken glass sparkled on the rug. Papers were spread around the room. An inkpot was tipped over on the desk, contents soaked into the scattered papers.

“Edward. Where is the list of ingredients for the potion?”

“HJ7? Everything is in the journal I gave you yesterday.” Hyde replied. “Check the back.”

“In the mean time. Tell me what is going on here with the potion, Mister Hyde. I believe that is why I am here.” Miss Ito instructed, tapping their foot impatiently against the floor.

“I don’t want to, you’ll think I’m crazy and I have enough people who do that already, myself in included. Haha, isn’t that fun?” Hyde laughed, a little nervously. “Isn’t that right, He… Robert?”

“Edward, when you told them that Jekyll’s death was a suicide and there is no body you gave up the right to hide this all.” Robert warned, handed Virginia the journal, open to the list in the back.

The blond sighed. Glanced at the mirror.

“Out with it, Edward Hyde!” Archer ordered. “I’ve had enough of your little games tells us where Doctor Jekyll’s body is this fucking instant!”

Rachel did not say anything.

“There isn’t one I told you that!” Hyde cried.

“How is that possible, Mister Hyde?” Miss Ito asked, keeping their voice neutral as they read through the journal page listing the components of the potion. HJ7, Hyde had called it. Hyde-Jekyll 7.

“Because I am Henry Jekyll!” Hyde shouted in return.

“What the fresh hell?” Rachel asked, gasping. Archer just stared at him in disbelief.

Miss Ito looked up at him, then down at the page. “That’s what that would do.” They realized. “Can you prove it? With this?”

“You’re just going to believe this utter _bullshit,_ Virginia?” Archer asked incredulously, staring at them in shock. “How the _fuck_ does Edward Hyde make out being Henry Jekyll? They don’t even look similar!”

“Well, first off, they have nearly the same face but that’s not even the fucking point.” Virginia replied. “I was brought in here to analyze the potion, that’s what I’ve done. In theory, it would split the human soul apart, according to Doctor Jekyll’s hypothesis and he’s backed it up within the statement.”

“ _Split?_ ” Archer echoed, looked over at Hyde. “Split _what,_ exactly? How would it split the soul?”

“How on earth would a soul split? Please make this less sciency for the cook!” Rachel asked.

“Good from evil. It failed, obviously, Henry was no more purely good than I am purely evil, but that was the principle.” Hyde said softly. “I was supposed to split off entirely, in his mind. Instead…”

“He could not make you your own form. Not without treading into the realm of animation. Alchemy could split his soul, even construct you a vessel but it couldn’t make a separate vessel. So…” Virginia trailed off.

“So it simply gave us two different appearances.” Hyde finished for them.

Archer was staring at him with open-mouthed horror. “Good from evil?”

“Good from evil.” Hyde agreed.

“First of all, what sort of heathen was doctor Jekyll, second, why should we believe that his _evil_ didn’t kill him?” Archer demanded.

“He makes a good point, Master Hyde.” Rachel seemed to want to believe the best of Edward, but the tale did make it rather hard.

“I lack the chemical knowledge to construct a potion that would kill only Jekyll and not myself as well.” Hyde said with surprising diplomacy. Robert was impressed.

“This is fucking disgusting! How long has it been going on?” Archer didn’t wait for the answer. “And you!” He rounded on Lanyon. “Did you know about this? Did you sit and watch you _friend_ do this to himself?” He snarled.

“I did not know anything of this situation until I walked into the office yesterday and found Mister Hyde in hysterics, from where he explained what had been going on and informed me that Henry Jekyll was dead.” Robert said honestly.

“And you decided to defend the evil little imp?” Archer demanded.

Hyde was looking more and more scared by the second, his confident, even cocky attitude melting out of him in the heat of Archer’s wrath.

Virginia, meanwhile, was poking around about the little blond. “You’re shorter than the doctor. But you’re not heavy, so what would the potion do with the extra matter?” They wondered to themselves, frowning. Hyde flinched.

“Miss Ito, this is a little…” he paused. “How do I say this. I’m not a fucking science experiment!”

Archer jumped at the sudden outburst, Ito just blushed a little.

“You are right in that, my apologies, Mister Hyde. It is just… I have never seen something like this!”

“You are quite right about that, I assure you.” Hyde confirmed with a sigh.

“Well, it is fascinating but… I would still like proof.” Rachel admitted. “How are you supposed to be Master Jekyll, Master Hyde?’

“How the hell do I get you that when I can’t transform into Henry? Henry is dead and gone.” Edward told her.

“Perhaps if I…” They walked over to the desk, sorted through the ingredients. “Only spur it to perform the physical transformations… then we can at least change your form and see if it works. Better, I feel, than one amongst us drinking the potion to see if it works. If it did things could get rather disastrous, there is no telling what skeletons lurk in our closets, and I imagine some are worse than drinking and a lot of maliceful energy.” They lit the burner on Jekyll’s desk, oblivious to the mess that covered it.

“You really believe this shit, Virginia.” Archer asked.

“I’m about to try and prove it, Archer, if you could wait a minute we all will.” Miss Ito said firmly.

“But-”

“You will notice, Mister Archer, that if Miss Pidgley doubts something, or finds it ridiculous, she states it once and demands proof. Why is it that the cook has a more scientific approach to this than you do?” Miss Ito asked him.

Archer did not have an answer for that. Only managed to huff and turn away.

“What are you making, Miss Ito?” Hyde asked curiously.

“I am attempting to make a potion that will catalyze your physical transformation without trying to spur the psychological one. If it spurs the psychological one, then it will fail.” Virginia replied.

“Okay, I’m no scientist, that was Jekyll’s bag of worms, but there are two potions. Mine and Jekyll’s. Couldn’t you just… mix them half and half?” Hyde asked, tilting his head to the side.

Virginia laughed for a moment or two, then paused and thought about it. “Truly, it is easier than trying to extrapolate a way to make a specific potion for it and it may actually work.” They agreed slowly. “Have you got two of those on hand?”

Hyde nodded. Dug through the drawer, found a vial of luminous red that Robert had seen one similar to before, grabbed a vial of luminous green. That colour he hadn’t seen before.

Hyde handed them to Virginia, who carefully measured two equal amounts of each colour and mixed them together into another beaker. Held their thumb over the top of the bottle, shook it until it turned a vile brown colour.

Handed it to Hyde, who gulped, visibly steeled his nerves, and drank it down.

For a moment, nothing happened. Robert bit his lip, wondered if this was an impossible challenge.

Until Hyde doubled over, a hand clutching the desk. The beaker dropped to the ground, shattered into pieces. Rachel gasped.

Edward coughed, choked, fell to his knees, retching, red slime dribbling out of his mouth and splattering onto the ground. He wasn’t looking up but Lanyon suspected it was coming from his eyes and nose as well.

Finally, Hyde curled into a ball on the ground, shoulders convulsing as he coughed and choked.

But as they watched, his hair shortened, his eyes slowly changed colour.

When he sat up, the form of Henry Jekyll sat up rather than that of Edward Hyde.

Rachel screamed. Virginia gasped, even Archer took a few steps back.

“So? I take it it worked.”

 


	9. Chapter 9

Edward Hyde did not want to dare look in the mirror. Even with Rachel screaming and Archer’s shocked look, he did not believe that it could actually have worked. It was just a stupid, unscientific bullshit idea there was no way halfing the potions could actually turn him into Henry Jekyll, only to still be Edward Hyde in Henry Jekyll’s body., even as he jokingly said that it must have worked.

He could not really have just turned himself into Henry Jekyll. There was no way. There was absolutely no way that he had managed to bullshit his way through alchemy and turn himself into Henry Jekyll.

“Doctor? Doctor Jekyll?” Miss Ito said cautiously.

“No, I’m not the doctor, sorry, you’re…”

“Edward?” Robert said suddenly. “Look down.”

Edward completely ignored him. If he wanted answers they would all be in that mirror, just like always.t the answers were always in the mirror wasn’t that what Henry had taught him way back two years ago at the beginning of this mess? If he needed an answer it was in the mirror or the journal so all he needed to do was trust Henry and Henry had told him to rely on the mirror.

Hyde scrambled over to the mirror, framed in gold-painted metal, easily the cleanest surface in the entire room.

Stared at himself, or so he thought.

Clean, well cut and styled brown hair. The same large nose, same shaped face, rounder eyes.

They were amber, not green.

He was a few inches taller, clothes tight and too small now.

He felt a surge of relief that common sense of what had just happened couldn’t take away from him. “Henry?” He murmured, staring at the figure in the mirror in utter shock. Was he back? Could Henry really be back? He wasn’t dead? He was alive?

“Edward.” Robert said sharply. “Edward, focus.”

“Robert, shut up.” Edward snapped, still staring in the mirror. Henry was back somehow Virginia Ito and his crazy fucking bullshit had brought Henry back but why wasn’t he talking? Why wouldn’t Henry say anything?

Either way, he wanted to cry, Henry wasn’t gone Henry wasn’t gone Henry wasn’t gone…

Rachel walked up beside him. “Edward. Look down.”

This time Edward complied, fully expecting to see nothing really having changed, surely the screaming must have been about his reaction to the potion if Henry was in the mirror it meant his form was not out here, so if Rachel had been reacting to him coughing up slime that was a pretty reasonable thing to do. He couldn’t judge her for it, surely?

He did not see his own legs underneath him.

Filled with horror, he stared at legs that were too long, the pants he was wearing were now a few inches too short. His calves were too wide, they were covered in brown hairs, not blond.

He gulped, the sudden feeling of hope that had swelled up in his normally thin chest was dying quickly, a fire doused in water, still trying to burn but sputtering painfully.

He looked over his arms. Same thing. They were longer, wider than they should have been, with brown hairs on them rather than blond.

Dread filled his tummy when he realized what he’d just fallen for. The potion had worked. Virginia Ito had not brought Henry back, only his shape. And thankfully, only Lanyon and maybe Rachel a little seemed to understand what Hyde had just been doing.

His knees felt weak but he made himself walk back to the others.

“I…”

“Apparently logic triumphs alchemy.” Miss Ito remarked.

“Great god I didn’t actually think mixing them would work!” With a start, Hyde realized that he was not even speaking in his own voice. It was the deep, low voice of Doctor Henry Jekyll. This was not good. He felt distinctly uncomfortable, wrong. His peripheral vision was wrong, what he could see of the rest of his body was wrong it wasn’t _his_ it wasn’t _his._ It felt like something was crawling up his spine, making his skin want to writhe and twitch, made him want to tear it from his bone, this was wrong this was wrong this was wrong.

Biting his lip, he turned to Miss Ito. “Could you… mix another? The opposite first than you just did, I would…” a shiver ran up his spine, this was so wrong, “I would quite like to return to my own form now that you have had your proof.”

Ito turned to Archer. “Is this enough proof for you?” She asked. “It clearly has been for Rachel so I won’t bother asking her, what about you?”

Archer contemplated Hyde, standing before him in Doctor Jekyll’s form. Sighed. “This is a fucking mess.” He remarked. Buried his face in his hands.

Edward was pretty sure his skin was visibly crawling by this point he did not want to be in this form for one more second, he was going to scream he was going to burst he was going to die he could not stand here for one more second but he had to. “Yeah, Virginia, you can turn him back now. I don’t like it, but I believe it.” He agreed.

Hyde was now pretty sure that his knees were shaking. Robert held an arm under his shoulders, keeping him on his feet. His skin was pale, sickly, his red eyes were swimming around the room. Sensing that something was viscerally wrong with Hyde, Virginia got to mixing the potions together, first green, then red, capped the bottle with her thumb and shook it together. It formed the same disgusting, vile brown colour as before, but this time it took no nerve steeling, his shaking hands, several sizes larger than he was accustomed to seeing them, grasped the bottle and he gulped it down with urgency, more than welcomed the roiling, horrific pain, the convulsions that dropped him first to his knees, then onto his back, roiling and convulsing and gasping for breath, skin writhing on his form, bubbling and boiling on his body, as his limbs shrunk, his hair grew out and lightened into the messy blond that belonged to Edward Hyde, and not Henry Jekyll, fluorescent green tears spilled from his eyes, he coughed up green slime, as per usual, all down his front, coughing and choking and retching until finally he could sit up, take in a gasp of air, and finally everything felt right again.

His clothes were loose, the buttons and seams pulled, but he was back in his own slighter, smaller form, his chest heaving for air, his hands shaking as he pulled himself up to lean over his knees. “I’m never, _ever_ doing that again, so you’d damned well better have seen your fill the first time.” He said, panting. He sniffled a little, wiped the green away on the back of his white sleeve.

Everything was right again. His skin wasn’t writing around him anymore, he was no longer locked inside a flesh prison formed of Henry’s form.

His hands were still shaking when he pulled himself to his feet, leaning heavily on Henry’s desk, weak and a little broken, utterly terrified. Even now, the lodgers could turn on him. Rachel, Archer and Virginia could have him dead within a few minutes, and no one anyone would even try to do would be able to stop them. Two transformations had exhausted him, and he doubted he would be able to outrun a sloth, never mind three lodgers.

Even if Lanyon would be willing to help him, which he had a lot of certitude on that matter but he highly doubted that even him and the doctor could stop the lodgers in the room.

“How did this happen?” Archer asked, storming up to Hyde, pushing himself into the little blond’s face. He leaned back, moving as far as he could back from Archer until he was bent as far back as he could go over Henry’s desk, green eyes wide, scared.

“Archer! Get out of his face! Edward Hyde will answer your questions but he needs a little bit of breathing room!” Lanyon pushed him back, Hyde straightened out, took a few moments to catch his breath.

“Forget Archer’s question, _when_ did this happen? Start small, Master Hyde.” Rachel said kindly.

“Two years ago.” Hyde managed to stammer, biting at his lip until he could taste salty, coppery blond in his mouth, glancing in between Rachel’s face and the floor. He was an animal trapped in a corner, hackles up but unable to really do much besides lash out and hope for the best.

No one would be coming to save him besides Lanyon and there was only so much that Lanyon could do. Archer was still glaring at him, though from a bit of a distance, now.

He gulped. “Henry… I don’t know how this happened it’s a mess everything that happened when we were the same person is a mess in my head I just know that he wanted to separate good and evil and he did it to us only he wasn’t entirely good and I’m not entirely evil and I don’t understand what happened….” Hyde babbled, sniffled again. “Henry never managed to explain the technicalities and I didn’t care enough to pay attention. I should have payed attention this was stupid why didn’t I pay attention…” He groaned, buried his face in his hands, wiping his eyes with the heels of his hands.

“Alright, alright, alright Mister Hyde. I am going to go and talk to the rest of the lodgers, I want you to stay in here until I need you. Doctor Lanyon and Miss Rachel, stay here with Mister Hyde.” Virginia Ito instructed, and walked herself out of the room.

Hyde was shaking. Archer followed quietly after Miss Ito, Rachel glanced at Hyde.

“This must not be your ideal plan for a morning.” She murmured, Hyde shook his head.

“I don’t get mornings, most often. At least not after dawn. I saw the sunrise in the mirror, watched it slice into the horizon from a glass pane.” Hyde murmured to himself. Part of him wanted to go onto a poetic vein but he wasn’t sure he could manage it. He had sworn for a moment that Henry had been back in the mirror. For a few seconds, stupid, pointless seconds, he had allowed himself to hope. To hope that maybe Henry could come back to hope that he wasn’t to be alone anymore but it had been absolutely pointless. Fruitless, stupid, self damaging.

What was he doing to himself?

“How did it work?” Rachel asked curiously. “Sit down, relax, Archer might be unsure of what to do but both you and Master Jekyll were my friends, I shall not turn on you simply because you were both.” The cook assured him, ushered him to a seat, even if it was on the ground, leaned against Jekyll’s desk, eyes half-shut, his face small and had fear etched onto it.

“How did what work?” Hyde asked quietly.

“Everything. Did you have a schedule worked out? Did you two get alone? What was it like? That you want to tell me, of course. I don’t want to push you and make you tell me something that you don’t want to. I… just want you to be able to talk to someone, Master Hyde.”

Lanyon sat down on the other side of him.

Hyde didn’t know what to talk about. He had never really been able to talk about a lot of the fine details of this case, he had never even considered being able to discuss any of this with Rachel.

“I… we didn’t really have a schedule, no, I only got to go out at night and only when I bargained and schemed for it Henry didn’t like to let me out…” Edward muttered to himself. “I guess… I guess we didn’t get along.” He admitted, which was very likely the understatement of the fucking millennium. “I… I… I never thought that I would miss him until he was gone…” He fought back a sob, sniffled. “Until he was gone and everything is so quiet and it’s deafening me I can’t take it any longer…”

He curled in on himself. No matter what he did thoughts of Henry were never happy, and he could not get passed the pain of silence of being empty of never being able to find Henry again he was gone he was gone he was gone…

“Edward, Edward focus…” Lanyon said suddenly, shaking his shoulder and startling him. He slammed his head into one of the drawers of the dresser, winced, rubbed the back of his head with a hand.

“Ow!” he cried, frowning.

“So. You didn’t get much daytime to yourself. Hence the Spirit of London At Night?” Rachel asked curiously. “I figured you were just overdramatic.”

“Oh, don’t kid yourself. Edward is overdramatic, Miss Pidgley.” Lanyon laughed, pushing Edward’s shoulder, who simply molded under the motions, pushed into Rachel, who barely managed to hold him upright.

Rachel pushed him back up, leant him against the desk again, let him rest against the sturdy wooden structure, while he simply focused on staying with the present day. He felt as though he would either lose it completely, fall into a horrendous, blubbering mess, or fall asleep.

The transformations had taken a toll on his energy. Transforming into himself, that was completely natural. Took no energy at all. Transforming back into Henry was a little bit like drinking a glass of warm milk, although it was much less painless to drink the glass of milk than to transform. It made him sleepy, urged him to take a nap, which he could do, sink down into the lowest corners of Henry’s mind and just rest, but he didn’t have to. It couldn’t force him to.

But transforming into Henry while maintaining his own mind in the front, keeping his own head and personality about him, that was like running for hours on end, running without stopping for ages. To transform back into himself was a little less tiring, but still exhausting.

He just wanted to curl up and take a nap. It wasn’t an appropriate time to do that but that was all he wanted to do since having yet another mental breakdown wasn’t a fucking option that he wanted to explore. He was sick of breaking down he was sick of all of this but it was only going to get worse as he was all alone, he was all alone…

He took a deep breath. Maybe sleeping would work. Maybe he should take a nap.

He slowly slumped over, let his eyes close fully, curling over his knees until strong, warm hands pulled him over a little to the side, and he was leaned against Rachel’s side, eye closed, already starting to nod off.

“Get some sleep, Master Hyde. I’ll wake you when Miss Ito returned for you.”

 


	10. Chapter 10

Rachel was sitting quietly, curled protectively, motheringly, around the small sleeping form of her friend. Edward was snoring in little puffs, curled into a little ball, face slack, a little drool dripping out of the side of his mouth, though Rachel did not appear to care. She stroked her fingers gently through his messy blond hair.

“I’ve never managed to understand how you and the lodgers ended up actually liking Mister Hyde there. He always struck me as one hell of a character. Not one that you want to encounter, never mind befriend.” Lanyon remarked. Rachel curled a little more around her friend.

“Master Hyde is a kitten. He’s not going to hurt anybody, besides maybe have a barfight, not intentionally at least. He only thinks he’s a crazy villain. He’s small and he’s boisterous but he doesn’t really do any harm.” Rachel replied with a smile, listened to him snore, taking deep inhales, little whistling puffs as exhales. “Honestly? He’s no Jasper but he’s kinda cute. Like I said, he’s a bit like a fluffy kitten. Hungry, always wants everyone’s attention.” She continued.

“Yeah?”

“Yeah. He can’t stand being ignored. Come to think of it, Master Jekyll likely ignored him all the time too. So, he always wanted people’s attention. He went about it a decent way. A lot of what he had to say was rumours and gossip, but it still meant he knew something. You could tell it was a cry for attention, but somehow… somehow you have to feel bad for him.” Rachel explained.

Lanyon pondered that, looking down at the little figure in messy, dark clothing that he had borrowed from Lanyon’s home, the gauze wrapped around his hand, hair fanned out on Rachel’s lap, snuggled up into a little ball, snoring away. “I… I suppose I can see it.” Lanyon agreed with a sigh. “He’s got a little bit of a pathetic aura if he isn’t threatening you, hmm?”

“Don’t ever let him hear you say that one, Doctor Lanyon. You’ll be getting one hell of a lecture for that one.” Rachel giggled, smiling down at the sleeping figure all but curled up in her lap. He did resemble a little cat, lounging in someone’s lap.

“Miss Ito will want him awake and alert when she is finished with her part of the explanation.” Lanyon remarked. “We should wake him. He doesn’t need t sleep like this forever.”

“He has earned some rest, Doctor Lanyon. Did you see the look on his face after transforming? He is dead tired, let him sleep.” Rachel told him mildly. “I do not think transforming into Henry’s shape without changing minds was very good for him at all.” She remarked. “He seemed like he was in desperate pain when he was standing there in Henry’s shape. I am no scientist, but I am pretty damned sure about that fact. I know when someone is in pain after growing up with so many families in one house and he was in pain, Doctor Lanyon.”

“The lodgers may insist that he transform to prove it to them.” Robert reasoned. “It is a difficult tale to believe without any proof.” He said with a smile.

“But-” Rachel looked taken aback. “But, Doctor Lanyon you cannot allow them to do that it’ll be devastating for him! You have no idea what it could do to him he could barely handle it last time!” The cook told him angrily. “We cannot allow them to force him to transform, not again.”

“I don’t want to do it either but it may be the only way that the lodgers concede to believe what Ito is saying. I’m sorry, Miss Pidgley, but it may be our only chance.” Robert explained, sighing and sitting down next to the two of them, smiling at the little blond who was still sleeping, curled up in Rachel’s lap, snoring softly, buried in his own arms.

“They cannot ask him to do that, Doctor Lanyon. They cannot. If they do they may kill him. I fear it may kill him, or cause additional harm that we do not want to cause to him. And I don’t want to see him hurt. He’s tired and he’s sick and he can’t be asked to do this anymore!” She spat. “And if the bunch of sciency prigs out there can’t accept that then they can come up with their own fucking lie about it!”

“Rachel? What are you yelling about?” Hyde asked, in a faint voice, sitting up and blinking sleep out of his eyes. He looked blearily around the room, seemed relieved to notice that Ito and Archer were no longer in the room. “God, I need a drink…” He murmured, more to himself than anyone else. “What is going on has Ito been here?”

“Edward, just relax, lay back down if you want. Miss Ito has not been here yet, no, and you are welcome to continue resting. Miss Pidgley got a little excited about some things, is all. She’s fine, you are fine, everyone is fine.” Robert assured the blond, who yawned and curled back up, head in Rachel’s lap again. She didn’t tell him off.

Apparently, Hyde really did get along very well with some of the lodgers. Rachel included.

“Master Hyde, Doctor Lanyon believes the lodgers may force you to assume Master Jekyll’s form again before they believe your tale.” Rachel blurted out to the little man who had been lying peacefully, until he heard her words.

“They can’t!” He cried in distress, sitting bolt upright, looking terrified. “God, Robert, I can’t do that again you can’t ask me to do that again it’s not fair it was terrible I can’t do it if I have to live one more minute in the wrong body I’ll lose it completely I can’t do it…” he babbled, completely panicked, green eyes wide with fear.

“Was it really that bad, Edward?” Robert asked, raising an eyebrow. “I know you were unsteady on your feet but you are unused to the form, as well.”

“It was truly that bad, it was one hundred times worse than that bad it was awful everything was so _wrong,_ Robert, I cannot do it I cannot take Henry’s shape again…”

“Edward Hyde can you please just breathe. You’ll be completely fine whatever the verdict of the conversation if you fucking breathe.”

“That is really fucking easy for you to tell me, Robert! It doesn’t affect you!” Edward retorted. “I am not going to do that again, forget it!”

“You would rather be wanted for murder because the lodgers don’t believe you and you won’t prove it? Man up, Edward, you’re thirty-five years old for gods sakes you can handle it!”

“I’m not-”

“You _won’t._ That is what’s happening here.”

“No. I meant I’m not thirty-five.” Edward told him simply.

“How aren’t you? Henry was!” Lanyon protested. “Otherwise you’re two, and that doesn’t work.”

“Both of those are wrong. I don’t know how old I am, really, but it’s at least ten years younger than Henry was.” Edward said, green eyes wide. “Maybe twenty. I wouldn’t say more than twenty.”

“So, wait. You’re only around fifteen to twenty-five?” Robert asked, incredulous. No way in hell.

However, it would explain a lot of the behaviours he had that Robert would never expect for someone of his age, if he was younger than Henry.

“Pretty much.” Edward agreed. “I’m definitely older than fifteen though. Probably… no younger than eighteen? Nineteen? I don’t really know there’s no little flag warning congratulations saying how old you are every year. I’m not thirty-five though, I know that.” He continued, seemed to ponder it a little bit. “I really don’t know. Technically I’m only two years old, that’s how longer it’s been since Henry first drank the potion, is two and a bit years. It’s a goddamned mess. Either way, my age is no way to convince me to do something that makes it feel like I’m going to explode if I stay in a form for any longer.”

“Is it truly that bad? It wouldn’t have to be for that long, Edward, only a few minutes…” Robert tried.

“Doctor Lanyon, with all due respect and all that crap, Master Hyde has told you how many times that he is not going to do it? It is more than time to stop fucking asking!” Rachel snapped. “You do not get to decide what he can manage and what he cannot, you get to deal with it and be one of the four of us that can confirm that it happened!” She got to her feet, brushed off her dress, got up in Lanyon’s face. “This is not up to you it is up to Master Hyde he is the one doing it!”

There was a knock on the door. Lanyon sighed, turned around to open it. “Yes, Miss Ito?”

It was not, as it turned out, Miss Ito. It was Mister Kaylock.

“Doctor Lanyon?” The werewolf, god, Lanyon _hated_ werewolves after that excursion in Switzerland, was standing nervously in front of him, toes pointed inwards, hands clasped together in front of him, thumbs twiddling in front of him. “Is it… Miss Ito has quite the tale, is it true?”

“Are you going to believe me more than you believe Miss Ito?” Lanyon asked pointedly. “Frankly, I don’t know anything that can convince you this is true, so if you could kindly _piss off_ it would be greatly appreciated.”

The bottle of wolfbane was still on Jasper’s hip. In about a week’s time, the bottle would slowly start getting emptied, Jasper would either manage to retain a human form or spend most of the week of the full moon curled up sleeping as a wolf.

Unless Miss Ito had botched the potion. Then he could cause all sorts of problems.

That Lanyon did not want to deal with. He _hated_ werewolves, all of them, especially that blasted _Morcant_ whom Henry had liked so much…

“Oi! Doctor Lanyon, your argument is with me don’t you take it out on Jasper!” Rachel shouted.

“Miss Pidgley-”

“No! Just stop it! Jasper can come in if he needs to, the only one who’s going to stop him is Master Hyde if he needs to!” Rachel insisted.

“He can come in if he doesn’t decide to badger me with one million questions.” Edward said quietly. “I am not in the mood nor mindset for one million questions.” He had his forehead resting on his hand, his green eyes closed.

“But is it true?” Jasper pressed. “No one answered me!” He protested, hazel eyes wide as he stepped passed Lanyon into the room.

“I don’t know if its true. What did Virginia tell you all?” Edward asked him. He hadn’t sat up yet, wasn’t looking at the tentative werewolf. “I was asleep, I didn’t really care what she said. I did my little demo part earlier.”

“Miss Ito told us that you were a part of Doctor Jekyll. It’s hell out there after an announcement like that. She said you had a potion that changed you back and forth between the doctor and you. And that that was why no one ever saw you two at the same time.” Jasper sounded a little unconvinced. It was one hell of a tale to accept, even Lanyon had to concede on that matter.

“That’s what she told you? Yeah, that’s all true.” Hyde agreed. “Nice way of saying that.”

“How didn’t we know that?” Jasper asked.

“The doctor and I were very intentional not to allow you to know. We didn’t let you know.” Hyde replied with a sigh. “So, you didn’t. I was an experiment who was completely unwilling to be found out and poked and prodded at by anyone but the doctor who didn’t get me much of a choice. Doctor Jekyll was too ashamed to be connected to me. So, you didn’t know.”

Jasper nodded. “Well. Doctor Jekyll brought me here instead of the police station. He let me stay here. Are you going to continue that? Please, I don’t want to be someone’s test subject I didn’t mean any harm I just had a botched potion…”

“Yeah Mister Sinnett was about the same deal. I don’t really care if you stay or go. I mean, technically it’s not up to me for another three months but that’s besides the point.” Hyde agreed dismissively, finally sitting up. There were dark circles around his eyes.

Great. Now Lanyon was a bully and a terrible person if he tried to ask Jasper to leave. Hyde needed to shut his fucking mouth sometimes, it was getting Lanyon into some amounts of trouble. He could handle the blond, Edward even had some redeeming qualities. Jasper…

Jasper was a werewolf. There was no redeeming that.

“If this place doesn’t crumble before all of that, without Doctor Jekyll. Do you realize the amount of work he used to do just to keep this place afloat?” Rachel remarked. “Over twenty independent research facilities cost a lot to keep in the plus with the banks.”

“It won’t go under. I don’t think Lanyon wants Jekyll’s dream going belly up, so he’ll keep it going. He can do the paperwork, like he told me he would, it’ll be fine.” Hyde replied. God that mouth was getting Lanyon in trouble, and it wasn’t even Lanyon’s mouth.

Jasper looked a little worried. Apparently, he knew that Lanyon didn’t like him. That was fine with Lanyon. He didn’t often try to hide if he disliked someone unless it benefited him for them not to know, as it had with Hyde, simply because that man had made him nervous and he hadn’t wanted to end up on his bad side for being discourteous or unfriendly.

Either way, he didn’t trust werewolves, certainly didn’t like them after that blasted she-wolf, Morcant, and got it wasn’t even like it was entirely _her_ but what she had done with Henry made Lanyon want to kill her for no real good reason.

Werewolves, now, by nature, were Henry’s cup of tea. Not Robert’s.

“Do you get any part of the society, Master Hyde, or is it just Doctor Lanyon? Surely you must get something, being that you and Master Jekyll shared a body?” Rachel asked.

“In three months time I step into Jekyll’s shoes until I can get myself back out of them.” Hyde replied.

“In three months? Why the wait?”

“We can’t prove that Jekyll is dead. It should be seven years or six or something like that but the will says everything to me after three months of disappearance. Not that I want his life. I’m happy with what I have and what I am, I don’t belong in any position of power.”

“You are still young, Edward, it is natural to seek freedom and not social standing at your age.” Lanyon told him.

“You… would, sorry, will you stay here still?” Jasper asked.

“I don’t think so. My job was a front.” Hyde explained. “I don’t actually do anything here. So, there’s no point in me staying the position just granted me access to the society and Jekyll’s office.”

“I may still talk you into staying. Not as a founder and owner, if you don’t want, but as a step into the darker realm of science. Like you always sort of were, as reprieve for Henry.” Lanyon suggested.

“But I don’t know if I want to.” Edward Hyde said elusively. “We will have to see.”

There was a knock at the door. Lanyon opened it again. This time, it was in fact Miss Ito. “They would like to see Mister Hyde now. It’s… I’d keep my head down. It’s not pretty out there.”


	11. Chapter 11

“What do you mean by not pretty?” Jasper asked worriedly. “It gets ever not-prettier than it was when I left, Miss Ito?” He asked, getting to his feet and walking over to the door, his hat sitting askew on his head. “I thought it was pretty not-pretty when I left.”

“Well, they didn’t give me much of a choice on the matter of going to get Mister Hyde, it was more of an order than anything. They are not asking anymore, and they want to speak to him. And… they’re throwing things. Glass bottles, all of that. I would keep my head down, Mister Hyde.” Virginia suggested, walking into the room, over to where Hyde was leaning against the desk. “Come on, Mister Hyde, let’s go. They want to talk to you.” She prompted, grabbing his arm to pull him to his feet. He tugged it away.

“I do not have the energy to duck bottles for the next twenty minutes while they demand proof I don’t have.” He told him simply, green eyes wide. He didn’t seem mad, only intolerant of what she was suggesting. “They have heard all there is to hear on the matter, Virginia, if Henry knew you at all his knowledge tells me you would have been quite thorough.” Hyde continued. He rested his chin on his knees.

Virginia Ito sighed. “I told them all I could learn form how you spoke, what you said and what Doctor Jekyll had written in his journal, that I managed to read while they were talking, at least. And what you wrote in the journal. Your part scares them. And who you are scares them. They are scientists, but they are not Moreau. They cannot simply tolerate something because you want them to.” She explained gently, crouching down next to Hyde. “So, you need to come and talk to them. This is one hell of a tale to ask them just to accept without hearing from you.” She remarked.

Hyde sighed. Lanyon groaned. Convincing a young man, maybe just beyond a kid _god_ it was going to be frustrating to treat him as younger than he had always treated Henry but that was life, to do anything he did not want to do was going to be one hell of a chore. God knew why Hyde didn’t want to speak to the lodgers anyways, although the sound of angry scientists throwing beakers did not inspire much will to go see them in Lanyon either.

Sadly for Hyde, it wasn’t up to him whether he spoke to the lodgers or not. He was going to have to whether he wanted to or not.

Lanyon looked over at him. “It can’t be that bad. I will go with you Edward, get to your feet, we’ll go talk to them. They’ve had a nasty shock and I am certain that they will recover soon, but you must speak to them. You dropped a bomb on them, by saying Henry was dead, and then insisted on leaving with Miss Ito and I without finishing your explanation.” The doctor reminded him. “I doubt Miss Ito explained Henry’s death.”

The woman inclined her head. “You are correct, I did not, Doctor Lanyon.” She agreed. “They will want to hear that too. Please, Doctor, Mister, I am at a lost of what to say to them. I need help. I am but Doctor Jekyll’s pupil I am capable of much in the ways of neo-alchemy, though he was better-”

“Wasn’t.” Hyde said quietly. “He knew it too, his skills were rusty, you were better.”

“I-” Virginia seemed taken aback. “Either way, I cannot convince them. I need your help. I do not know what to say to them, I do not know the particulars of this case.” She explained with a sigh.

“And I do.” Hyde said with a sigh, staring at the floor.

“You do more than know them, Mister Hyde, you lived them. So, you need to be the one who goes and explains it to them when they won’t believe me.” Miss Ito insisted, still talking in a soft, calm voice. Did everyone around this place know how to reason with and persuade the blond? Had Henry taught it like a class in school? Shame he hadn’t included Lanyon in it, he was good enough at convincing Hyde to do something, but knowing how Henry used to do it would be useful.

“I don’t want to talk to them right now…” Hyde said quietly.

“I know you don’t. But you need to.”

“You sound like Henry used to.” Edward told the woman. She pondered that for a moment.

“And you’ve been missing Doctor Jekyll, and this is something he would have wanted you to do, so you should probably consider doing it.”

Hyde sighed. “I don’t know what to say to them, Virginia, if all your science can’t explain this how can I?” He asked, biting at the edge of his lip again. It was a wonder he had any of his lip left at this point. He kept fucking chewing on it. He needed to stop that sometime soon but honestly there were much bigger problems to be dealing with in relation to Hyde, and the fucking werewolf that had walked back over to Hyde to try and help convince him and _god,_ Lanyon just wanted to tell him to fuck off, but Rachel would never tolerate that. She was not going to hear him snap and snarl at Jasper for no apparent reason, in the eyes of the cook, at least. Lanyon knew he had a damned good reason to hate the stupid werewolves and that stupid Morcant she had stolen Henry away and goddamn it he wanted to get the werewolf away from him.

“Mister Hyde, you can explain this to them. Trust me. I know you can.” Jasper told him gently. “It’s not the same, but I had to tell my family I got bit by a wolf. A werewolf. And that next full moon they were going to have a veritable monster on their hands. Not just a man who is partially evil and partially not, Doctor Jekyll did not have success in his attempts you are not fully evil. I was a monster. And I wanted to run but I couldn’t because someone owed it to them to explain it. I had to tell my parents that I was a monster. These are your friend come on, Mister Hyde, I know you get on well with the lodgers. They will hear you out, angry or not. And you can tell them this. It isn’t the _worst_ secret in the world, and it isn’t entirely your secret either. Part of this is Doctor Jekyll’s responsibility and they will have no choice but to see that someday. With a little luck, it will be a soon someday very soon.”

Lanyon was stunned. The patronizing tone from the monster did not get him snapped at by the blond sitting on the floor. Hyde seemed to be considering Jasper’s every word for its importance. “I don’t fancy getting a bottle smashed over my head for something Henry did.” He said simply.

Jasper nodded. “Can’t blame you for that, Mister Hyde. But I won’t let them smash a bottle on your head, trust me.” He told the nervous blond. “It’s not a pleasant experience. Now, on your feet, let’s go talk to the others, they’ll be impatient by now. Miss Ito, Doctor Lanyon, could you lead the way? Rachel and I can handle Mister Hyde.” Jasper instructed. Robert bit his tongue, really fucking hard, so that he did not argue with the little beast, god, if Jasper wasn’t still here because of Henry’s goddamned attraction to werewolves than Robert would eat his fucking top hat, what the hell kind of research could a wolf off the streets have?

But he did not have the right to argue at the moment. He nodded, walked over to the door with Miss Ito. Let Rachel and Jasper deal with getting Edward onto his feet and moving for the doorway.

Lanyon could hear a fair amount of chaos when he left the room to walk over to the lobby. Glass shattering, angry shouting and debating. Virginia picked up her pace a little, raced back into the room. “Enough!” She shouted in her loudest voice possible, which was quite loud. “Everyone, that is enough shouting!”

Griffin turned to face her. His face was paler than normal. It was clear that Hyde sort of scared him of late. “Did you bring him, Miss Ito?” he asked nervously.

“Yes, I did. And he is not super inclined to talk to you all, the throwing bottles around does not make a welcoming environment to answer questions in, so you all should take a deep breath and you know, maybe not flood a man whom half of his mind just died with a bunch of nonsense accusations. He’s not himself and you should all try to respect that.”

“Respect that? He and Jekyll were hiding this whole works from us and you want us to be nice to him?” Mister Luckett scoffed. His hat was on fire, but no one seemed phased by that fact, so Robert did not mention it. It was probably a normal occurrence around here.

“I would like you all to be reasonable. Henry kept this from me, as well, but it does not mean we have to take it out on Hyde. I imagine hiding it all from you was more up to Henry than Edward. So, if we could all handle this reasonably, it will help us all more in the long run.” Lanyon reasoned. “Not to make him panic without it being absolutely necessary.”

Griffin glared at him. “He should be freaking out! He’s been lying to us all! Him and doctor Jekyll!” The man argued.

“I didn’t mean to lie…” Hyde said quietly. “How was I supposed to- to tell you guys this? Jekyll didn’t want me to hell I didn’t want me to!” His voice was rapidly growing more and more high pitched, more and more scared by the second, by every syllable that came out of his mouth. His green eyes were wide, scared. Rachel and Jasper were running after him, but it was clear he’d heard something and bolted into the lobby without them. “Would you have believed me if I had told you?” He challenged.

Griffin stared at the ground. “I… I suppose I see your point, Mister Hyde. But the point is that you are supposed to be someone’s entire evil! How the hell are we ever supposed to trust you!” He questioned, red eyes narrowed.

“I’m not all of Henry’s evil I’m not!” Edward protested, trying to shrink back into the corner, but he only bumped into Archer, who he had not realized had closed the gap in the circle behind him and locked him in the middle of the angry mob of lodgers. He didn’t like the fact that they had closed him in. “The potion didn’t work why does anything change, guys, I’m still Edward Hyde nothing has changed you just know how I came to be that’s all!” He cried.

“What’s changed is that you’re a vile, despicable _creature,_ not a man!” Sinnett told him angrily. “You’re just a science experiment and if you aren’t pure evil you’re just a failure!” He snapped.

Hurt filled Hyde’s green eyes, he barely stopped himself from stumbling back again, that wasn’t true he wasn’t a failure he wasn’t a failure he _couldn’t_ be a failure if he was a failure that meant he wasn’t meant to be here…

Hyde was clearly panicking. Lanyon stepped back in. “People! People, that is absolutely enough!” He snapped. “You do not have the right to do this right now he is here to answer your questions not face ruthless accusations!” He ordered, voice full of anger and snarl. “Now start acting civil towards Edward or I will remove him from the premises.”

Sinnett closed his mouth. Griffin glared at him but didn’t say anything.

“So… have you always been like this, Mister Hyde? How long have you been around?” A woman asked curiously.

Hyde jumped when she spoke, took a few moments to breathe and recuperate a touch of his cool before answer the woman. “Two years and a few months, Miss Lavender.” He said in a voice that was almost steady. God, he was terrified. At this point, Lanyon couldn’t blame him. The Lodgers were refusing to handle this like proper men and women. “Before that… Jekyll and I were the same person and life and memories are a bit of a mess before that point, but we weren’t separate people.”

A bit of nodding.

“And you promise you aren’t entirely evil?” Another voice, this one a little muffled, asked cautiously.

“I’m not entirely evil trust me, Mister Mosley.” Edward assured him, starting to look a little more comfortable with how the conversation was going, no one was yelling at him anymore.

“Then you’re a failure!” Griffin accused, jabbing a finger into Hyde’s chest. The blond took a big step backwards and yet again bumped into Archer, so he was forced to allow Griffin to get up in his face. The man’s pale face was reddened with anger, his eyes accusing. His white hair stood up at odd angles. “Why did doctor even keep you alive, if you were just a _failure._ ”

“I… I… I’m not a failure!” Hyde protested, hands shaking. He was back to looking scared, in the blink of an eye. “I am not a failure Griffin!”

“Then you’re evil.” Archer accused. Trapping Edward in a loop where he had to agree to something. Either to being a failure or being evil. It was a double-edged sword and Hyde couldn’t come out unscathed. Not unless someone stepped in for him again but that may do more damage than it was worth.

“No! Fine, I’m a failure and Jekyll only kept me around because he couldn’t get rid of me! Are you happy?” He looked like he was about to cry. “I’m a failure. That’s the truth.”

“I-”

“Enough!” Ito shouted. “That is enough all of you! Archer you have more than made your point now lay off Mister Hyde! You too, Griffin!” She ordered. “You have done more than your fair share of harm for the day!”

If there was one thing that was clear, that was it. Hyde looked about ready to break down, fall to the ground, start crying or something close.

This poor man had dealt with the reality of being a failure, being not good enough being not what Henry Jekyll had wanted when he had made the potion, being ignored, being a failure, never been what he was supposed to be always falling short.

It was very clear that if there was one thing Hyde couldn’t handle, it was being reminded of that reality.

“Enough. Hyde has proved himself, at the very least you know the full story, or as much of it as you have bothered to gather. So, it is time we let him rest.”

“Is he allowed to just stay here?” Griffin demanded.

“Yes.” Said Miss Lavender. A chorus of more agreements echoed after her.

 


	12. Chapter 12

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Okay to give a fair warning but try to avoid spoilers in this little blurb here, there is suicide in this chapter.

Edward Hyde did not argue when Rachel gently led him out of the room full of angry scientists. He felt numb. He had heard Griffin’s accusations too many times, straight from the mouth of Doctor Henry Jekyll himself, telling him that he was a failure, good for nothing, should be thrown away like a failed experiment, stupid, useless _failure._ Henry Jekyll’s worst accidental discovery, the one he loathed most, nothing but a failure in his attempts for greatness, how many times had Henry muttered to himself that he should just throw away the potion and let Hyde fade away into nothing because that was all he was, nothing when it came to success and failure Hyde was a failure and no matter what he did to try and be a success he could not. He could not get passed the wall in his life stopping him from being anything else because he was a _failure_ and that didn`t go away just because he wanted it to.

It felt like someone had stabbed him. Bad enough he had been forced to have that conversation, to admit anything the lodgers could have asked him that was hell but now he’d had to admit something to himself.

He wasn’t pure evil. Even he knew that.

Which meant he was a failure. He was a failure just like Jekyll had always said and now the lodgers knew it too he was nothing but a failure why was he even still here?

“Master Hyde?”

“You can drop the niceties, I won’t oversee much here for much longer. Edward will do.” He said in a quiet voice, staring at the floor. His throat felt thick with hurt and tears.

Rachel sighed. “Edward, you should get some rest. Things will look better after a nap.” She assured him, tone gentle and persuasive. “You’ll feel a little better, for one.” She continued, led him into the little bedroom area in the back of the office that Henry used to crash in constantly. “Off with your shoes, come on now…” She prompted, but when he just sat listlessly on the bed she sighed. “Try and get some rest.” She suggested, and left the room.

Of course. There were bigger, far more important problems than Edward Hyde he knew that he was just a failed experiment why waste time on him at all he wasn’t worth it.

He wasn’t worth anything. Certainly not any care, certainly not any of the fuss that Lanyon and Rachel were putting up for him. He stayed hunched over in the bed for what seemed like years, until his entire spine ached and popped when he finally sat up.

Got to his feet but his knees were weak, crashed down into the ground, probably bruising them but he didn’t care, he couldn’t care right now he didn’t have the energy or will to care…

Since clearly, he couldn’t walk over to the mirror, he ended up half-shuffling on his knees, half crawling, tripping a few times, nearly bashing his chin into the wooden floor, barely making it over to the looking glass.

This time he didn’t search the mirror for Henry’s face. He knew it wasn’t there. He knew he would never find Henry there ever again Henry was gone Henry was long gone.

With a sob, the blond fell towards his own reflection, against the cool glass surface of the mirror, on side of his face pressed into it. Tears dripped down his face, ran along the mirror. “Why did you do it, Henry?” He whispered, voice choked up with tears. There were no answers and now he wasn’t even surprised to find that. He knew Henry wasn’t there and why would Henry answer a failure anyways?

“I just have one question, Henry…” Edward said softly, staring at his own green eyes, filled with tears, filled with pain, scared and hurt. “Why did you leave me behind?”

His voice sounded shattered and shaky, even to him. Why had Henry left him to live why had Henry left a failure to continue to live even after Henry gave up it would have been far simpler to give up and to mix the salt into some wine and kill them both, why had Henry left him alive? What was the point of this how had Henry even known if he wanted to live by himself he didn’t want to live by himself this was terrible this was atrocious he didn’t want to live by himself. “Why would you go and leave me behind here?” He whispered.

He didn’t want to be here anymore he didn’t want to be by himself he wished he would have just _shut up_ about Henry using him if he hadn’t been harassing Henry about selling him to the police he should have just shut up why hadn’t he just shut up this was all his fault this was all his fault  he had done this Henry had drank the poison because Edward wouldn’t leave him alone he was dead because of Edward and everything was going to shit and this was all his fault this was all his fault this was all his fault why had he done this he’d ruined everything he’d driven Henry to suicide that was how terrible he was that was how much of a fucking _failure_ he was. He drove everyone away with cruelty but didn’t manage to be a success and didn’t manage to be pure evil he just managed to be… to be…

To be bad enough to make it so that Henry would rather die than be around him, but still not a success.

That was why Henry had left him behind. Because wherever Henry was no he hadn’t wanted to risk seeing Edward there. Who could blame him? Edward wouldn’t want to see Edward if he had the choice. Why would anyone? He was a good for nothing failure who shouldn’t even exist the lodgers were right Henry was right he was nothing. He was nothing he shouldn’t even be alive why was he alive when Henry was dead he did not want to be alive he was sick of breathing he was sick of all this self-doubt and silence he wanted to be whole again, but he couldn’t because Henry wasn’t coming back because he had driven Henry away he had driven Henry to suicide this was all his fault and everything was finished the damage was done he couldn’t fix this he could only watch thing fall apart.

And live with the burning knowledge that it was all his fault.

He sobbed, a pretty little broken sob, quiet, pathetic, just like him, pathetic and good for nothing.

Henry had left him behind so that he could suffer like Henry had suffered. It was only fair. Henry had suffered through his noise and now, until it broke him and he took the same drastic end that Henry had, he would drown in painful silence that no amount of noise could break. It was fucking poetic he should appreciate Henry’s form of justice, but he didn’t. He couldn’t. Everything inside him was broken he didn’t know how he was going to survive like this until tomorrow never mind for the rest of his life he had never realized how much his entire sanity depended on Jekyll until now and now it was far, far too late. What could he possibly do now?

Besides sit here like he was, crying in heartbroken, pretty little sobs praying for an answer that was not there. Praying for something that could not happen no matter how much he wanted it to praying for Henry to be alive praying for the mirror to change.

“I’m sorry…” He breathed, sniffling, wiping tears on the back of his hand but they were back within seconds. “I’m sorry, Henry, please don’t be gone I was wrong and I can’t live in this world by myself…” He whispered to the face in the mirror, but his stayed fixed in front of him, face red and blotchy, tears streaming down his cheeks, green eyes reddened at the edges and round, wide, full of pain. His lower lip was trembling, his hair in a mess. His nose was running. He wiped it on the back of his sleeve. The mirror was foggy from his heavy breathing.

This was all his fault how did he live with that now it wasn’t fair how was he supposed to live with himself he had killed Henry Jekyll he had driven Henry Jekyll to suicide it was all his fault it was all his fault it was all his fault…

He had caused this he had done this why was he such an idiot why did he do these sorts of things why why why why why why did he have to be so selfish so cruel so malignant but not _evil_ because if he was evil he would be missing the biggest kicker of all if he was evil he wouldn’t be a failure.

He stared back into the mirror. A failure, coward, self-seeking _bastard_ stared back at him.

In a little burst of pain-fueled anger, he smashed his fist into the only constant left in his pathetic, good for nothing pointless life. The mirror. The reflection cracked down the middle of his face, fissuring and spiderwebbing until the pieces fell away and his image became as broken on the outside as it was the inside.

Nothing was right. The glass bit into the flesh of his hand, the one he hadn’t busted up that morning by smashing the flask.

Christ, he had some serious issues. He couldn’t even get through his problems without smashing the object in question. First the flask and now the mirror.

He groaned, shuffled backwards, felt the glass cut through his trousers, slice into his knees, he eventually pulled himself to his feet. His hand was letting blood splatter onto the floor, falling in little droplets onto the wood underfoot. He ignored it, walked back over to the bed and sat down, buried his face in his hands. His knuckles ached and smarted.

He sighed. Sniffled. Flopped down onto the bed and fought the urge to sob again. He couldn’t take this for another second not one more second, he couldn’t.

But he was sitting in Henry Jekyll’s chemistry lab. Maybe he didn’t have to. Maybe he didn’t have to try and survive this maybe this could be the end maybe he could be done maybe he didn’t have to live in silence.

Henry would already be screaming in his head for him to stop, but the ache and the need for this to be done only grew with that thought.

It wasn’t like anyone would miss him if he did it. He was just a failure, a good for nothing failure no one really needed him around he was only around because Henry Jekyll hadn’t managed to think of how to get rid of him without killing Henry Jekyll as well, and by the time he had Hyde had ruined his entire will to live and the doctor and simply killed himself instead.

Slowly, he pushed himself back to his feet. His hand was still bleeding, something warm and wet was dripping down his legs, starting at his shins. He didn’t bother to do anything about it, in a few minutes, maybe half an hour at most, it wouldn’t matter to anyone, particularly not him.

He was finished. He was finished with hurting he was finished with everything and if Henry couldn’t live with him, if Edward’s alternate self, other half but not in the romantic sense, couldn’t live with him, how couldn’t Edward be expected to be able to live with himself.

The long and short answer was that he couldn’t. He couldn’t live with himself after this realization, so why should he make anyone else?

He had an awful lot of Henry’s red wine in this office. That would be poetic. He didn’t need a chemical formula like Henry had made himself, he didn’t have another person to worry about, the one he was trying to kill was the only one there.

So, he found a wine glass, poured a full glass of dark red wine. Looked through the cabinets for the first chemical he could find that he knew for certain was lethal. Poisonous. The salt in the formula was but he knew for a fact that it would hurt to do it that way and he wanted to _end_ all the sufferance, not cause more.

So, he found some vial of something or other, all he knew was that Henry had told him once that it was deadly, and poured a healthy, or unhealthy, splash of it into the red wine.

His body was numb, his mind on autopilot. He had made this decision and his conscious mind had proceeded to shut off, uninterested in the results, rendering him unable to question himself on this decision, only to organize it and follow through with it.

He sat down in Henry’s chair. Set the glass vial on the desk, picked up the overfull glass of red wine.

Swallowed hard, steeled his nerves. The hairs on the backs of his arms were standing on end, skin turned into gooseflesh, but he didn’t stop.

Held the glass to his lips, tipped his head back, and drank. Two long gulps of the poisoned wine, he hated wine, but it didn’t matter if her liked it right now, did it?

“Edward? I’m sorry I didn’t come earlier the lodgers are fussing I heard a smash! What happened?” Lanyon, oh, poor, sweet, desperate to help Robert Lanyon, ran through the door. His voice startled the blond, who dropped the wine glass, it just slipped through his fingers and smashed into the floor, spilling its contents onto the wood.

A cold sweat ran down the back of his neck, chilling him to the bone. He just had to hope that two gulps were enough.

“Edward?” Lanyon said suspiciously. “What on Earth have you done? Was that wine?” He walked over to the desk, apparently, to Hyde’s relief, saw only the wine bottle as important. For the time being.

Edward’s mouth was dry, he did not manage a reply. Lanyon would learn soon enough what it was. Breathing was getting progressively harder, a more challenging task than it had ever been.

“Edward. What have you done?” Lanyon demanded, contemplating the blond sitting in the chair before him. He was pale. Sweaty. His hand and knees were bleeding, but something told the doctor that the cuts were not currently the problem.

He snatched the vial off the desk. Read the name.

It fell from his hand, added to the shattered glass and liquid on the floor, with the mirror and wine glass and wine and now some sort of toxic chemical. “You _poisoned_ the wine.” Lanyon realized. “Hyde, how much of that did you drink?”

Hyde completely ignored the question. Closed his eyes. He didn’t want to be saved, this had been his goal.

Wait. Autopilot flipped back off.

He was going to _die_ if he let this play through. “T-two sips…” He stammered, though part of him wanted to stay silent. He opened his vibrant green eyes again. They were dilated to the point that Lanyon could barely see the green anymore.

“How much did you put in that wine?”

“A-a splash…”

“I’m going to get Ito. Hang tight, Edward.” He dashed out of the room.

Edward had no choice but to close his eyes and hope. For what, he wasn’t sure.


	13. Chapter 13

Lanyon was running down the hall, searching for Virginia Ito’s room, in a fit of panic. Mister Hyde could not die he needed to find Miss Ito and he needed to find her now or else Edward Hyde was going to die. He was going to die just like Henry had, his dear friend, lover, his dearly missed friend. They were both going to die if he didn’t find Miss Ito. His feet pounded on the wooden floors, his breath coming in short, panicked gasps.

“Miss Ito! Miss Ito!” He shouted. He had dropped the vial, but he knew what the chemical was. Cyanide. He’d been a doctor for more than longer enough to know what cyanide would do to Hyde if they didn’t hurry. He’d still been pale when Lanyon had left the room but by now his skin was probably starting to flush a deep red, one of the telltale signs of cyanide poisoning. His breath would slowly stop doing anything for him, he was slip unconscious and never wake up again and Lanyon could not treat it alone they would need some sort of alchemy modern medicine was not advanced enough to cure cyanide poisoning, only detect it. “Miss Ito! Please, it is absolutely urgent!”

He ran square into Rachel. “What is wrong, Doctor Lanyon?”

“Edward is poisoned I need you to find me Miss Ito immediately. I’m going back to do what I can to help him.” Robert instructed. Rachel gulped, she looked a little pale but thankfully didn’t ask questions this was no time for questions Edward was going to die just like Henry had this was going to be the end this was the end if he didn’t manage to get Ito to help fix it Hyde would die he needed to get back there and keep watch…

“She’ll be right there.” Rachel promised, and ran off. Lanyon nodded and turned on his heel, racing back down the hall to Jekyll’s office, half expecting to find Edward already dead or convulsing on the floor or something of the sort, something terrible that would mean they could do nothing to help him he was so little it would not take much to kill him, not much more than it would take to kill a child and he had probably drank enough for that Christ what was he thinking why had he done this what was so wrong? Why had he just suddenly decided that this was the solution Lanyon honestly had never thought that Hyde would consider this after Jekyll had done it!

He burst back into the room, racing over to the desk. Hyde’s eyes were closed, his skin rapidly growing more and more flushed.

Lanyon dug through a drawer, snapped on a pair of gloves, he knew better than to touch a cyanide victim he may get poisoned himself, even at this rate he and Ito would experience symptoms. There was no way around it if they wanted to save Hyde they would have to accept that risk. It would be limited enough contact that they wouldn’t succumb to it.

He threw a blanket over the puddle of cyanide on the floor, no need to let it vaporise and spread through the air.

Shook Hyde’s shoulder, rather roughly. He wasn’t messing around and for a second, there was no response and he was terrified that he was already too late. That Hyde was not going to respond that he was already dead that he was too late that Lanyon had failed and both Henry and Edward would be dead within a few days of each other maybe it made sense, but he wasn’t willing to accept that Edward couldn’t die right now…

But finally, Edward’s green eyes, empty and unfocused, opened ever so slightly and Lanyon realized that he was still breathing. It was raspy, weak, quick paced but still very much there. He felt for a pulse. It was quick, erratic, disappeared for a few seconds are a time but it was still there. Thank god. “You’re an idiot, Edward Hyde, you know that?” He said softly. “Why would you do this to yourself? What was this bad that you couldn’t live with it why would you take the same end as Henry?” He continued. There wasn’t much he could do but try and supress the symptoms, ease the pain. This was not going to be pleasant for Hyde. This was going to hurt like hell. And it might only prolong the suffering, the little blond might still die after all of this. He was small and despite being young, apparently younger than Henry and therefore hardier against all sorts of afflictions he would succumb to less poison more easily.

“Doctor Lanyon?” Miss Ito burst into the room. She’d been running down the hall, she was gasping for air. “Miss Pidgley said you needed me and that it was terribly urgent, what is the matter?”

“Cyanide. Do you know an antidote?” Lanyon asked quickly.

“Why?”

“Because something is wrong in his head just like Henry’s and Edward decided it was a good idea to drink the damned stuff!” Lanyon said testily. “So, can you help him?”

“I might know something…” Miss Ito allowed, pondering the idea. “Only… I would need him moved into the general chemistry lab. Can you carry him? Doctor Jekyll did not keep the supplies I need in his office.”

“Should we dare move him?” Lanyon asked worriedly, looking down at the man, slumped in the office chair, sweat beaded on his forehead.

“Doctor Jekyll doesn’t have what I need here it’s not optional.” Miss Ito said simply.

With a heavy sigh, Lanyon reached over, slid an arm under Hyde’s shoulders and his knees, lifted the little blond out of his chair, into the doctor’s arms. His skin was warm, uncomfortably warm.

“R-Robert…” Edward said softly, staring up at the doctor with huge, dilated eyes.

“How are you feeling, Edward? I need you to be specific, please, tell me anything that you’re feeling right now.” Robert instructed.

Edward swallowed hard. His gaze was swimming around, unfocused. His breath was short and heavy, like he was running for his life. “M-my stomach hurts…” He said quietly. “And my head…”

Those were both pretty normal symptoms. Lanyon nodded and brought him into the makeshift chemistry lab they were still in the process of rebuilding. Ito walked them past Griffin, who looked up in confusion before getting up to follow them, it couldn’t hurt, he was no alchemist, but he knew his chemicals, straight over to her section of the lab. “Lay him out either in that chair or on the floor.” Ito instructed, grabbing a match and lighting up a Bunsen burner.

“What happened?” Griffin asked, rushing over to Ito’s side to help. “He doesn’t look very well.”

“He’s poisoned. Cyanide.”

“How’d that happen?” Griffin asked.

“He mixed it in some wine and drank it.” Lanyon replied, grabbing a rag and soaking it in cold water before pressing it to the blond’s forehead. “Edward, can you tell me anything else about how you’re feeling?”

“The room is spinning…”

Lanyon sighed. Great. Just fucking great. The symptoms were setting in quickly.

“Griffin, I need you to get me some…” Ito’s voice was slowly tuned out of Robert’s head as his attention turned back to the blond laying on the floor in front of him, who had squirmed a little bit and thrown up, unfortunately, none of it looked like wine, because it would be too lucky for him to lower the dose by throwing it up.

“I’ve got to sit you up else you choke doing that.” Lanyon realized with a sigh, was about to scoop the little blond off the floor when he remembered was another symptom of the poisoning was.

Seizures. Putting him in a chair would not help Edward’s case today. He looked up, spotted someone in the doorway. “Mister Archer. Find me a pillow, right now. Get back here as soon as you possibly can. Don’t ask questions.”

Archer ran out while Griffin ran back in, arms full of vials and jars, dumped them onto Virginia’s desk. She immediately snatched up and few and started measuring out the amounts she needed, mixing them into her beaker that was suspended over the Bunsen burner.

Lanyon lifted Hyde up and leaned the blond’s back against his chest. He needed Hyde to be sitting up lest he choke on his own vomit. His skin was flushed cherry red, burning to the touch. His teeth worried at his lip. “Miss Ito? How is that coming?”

“Ten minutes or more. Griffin, go and get a clean IV.” She ordered. The pale man took off out of the room.

“Do you have a IVs?”

“You had some once and Doctor Jekyll decided not to return them when you forgot them here.” Miss Ito replied with a sigh. “Don’t complain, could save Hyde’s life. This solution, if there’s one damned thing I know about treating cyanide, needs to be given as two separate chemicals, and through intravenous, not just an injection.” Miss Ito explained. “How is he doing?”

Edward’s breath was officially nothing more than little gasps, chest barely rising and falling with each one. “Well, he hasn’t had a seizure yet, so I’ll give him that, but he isn’t really doing so well in all honesty.” The doctor had to admit with a sigh. “I can’t do any form of forced respiration or I’ll poison myself so if he stops breathing there is nothing I can do.” He confessed. “It would probably just kill me.”

“Not if I still had the antidote, but that isn’t the point. I’ll try to get it done on time, but I can’t rush this, or it won’t form the compound.” Ito told him. “Focus on your patient, Doctor Lanyon, that’s all you can do right now. Leave the chemistry and alchemy to me.” She said with a sigh. “You can’t fix this, I can.”

Lanyon nodded. Shook Hyde’s shoulder, since he was seeming to drift off again. He groaned, pushed Lanyon’s hand off him. His hand felt like it was burning Lanyon’s flesh, the doctor bit his lip. “Edward,” He said in a soft, gentle voice, not wanting to alarm and freak out the man even further than he already was, despite it being his fault he didn’t deserve to suffer, not more than he had to to keep living. “You need to stay awake, I need you to stay awake, okay? You’re going to be alright, you just need to listen to my voice, and do as I say. I’m going to help you.”

Hyde’s eyes fluttered closed again, Lanyon shook him awake. “I’m so tired…” The blond said quietly, tried to fall asleep but Lanyon didn’t let him. “Edward, you need to stay awake.”

“I’m so tired…” Hyde said again, head lolling on Robert’s shoulder as he looked up at the doctor’s face. His green eyes had no focus left, Robert doubted he could even see beyond swatches of clothes and swirls of lights.

“You aren’t allowed to sleep, Edward, you need to stay awake, so we can help you. If you fall asleep then we lose hope of being able to help you and maybe you don’t regret that right now, but you will if you end up dead. We would like you to be alive by the end of this ordeal so if you would please cooperate with me, that would be great. Thing will be okay, Edward.” Lanyon said softly, holding onto the blond’s hand, giving it a squeeze. That had used to ground Henry, he had no idea if it would ever help Hyde, but it was worth a try. Burning flesh did nothing within Robert’s hand, didn’t even twitch when Robert squeezed it.

Robert bit his lip. Archer ran back into the room, handed Lanyon a pillow. “So, Hyde has been poisoned?” He asked softly.

“Poisoned himself. You should stay back; cyanide poisoning can catch through the air. Ito and I will suffer symptoms, but we’ll be okay, we should keep the contamination to a minimum.” Robert replied, taking the pillow.

“Why the hell did poison himself?” Archer asked, taking a few steps back, letting Robert deal with Hyde.

“I don’t know why he did it. But he did it and now Ito and I have to deal with this.” Lanyon replied with a sigh.

“What is the pillow for?”

“A symptom of cyanide poisoning is seizures. Its to protect his head and neck when that happens.” Lanyon replied with a sigh. “He doesn’t seem to need to sit up, he hasn’t thrown up since the first time, so we may as well be proactive. Ito?”

“Five minutes.”

Hyde was twitching. Convulsing from the spine outwards, Robert scrambled to move him, to set the pillow on the ground and rest his head on it, gently stabilizing Hyde’s neck while his body writhed from the poison. Archer took another step back.

“Ito, this is urgent.”

“Lanyon, I can’t hurry this process along, it just has to happen. I can’t make it go any quicker. Talk to him, keep him conscious.”

“That is a lot easier said than done, Ito!” Robert snapped, biting into his lip while he watched the seizure unfold. It shouldn’t last more than a few minutes, the blond was still breathing which mean the potion that Ito was preparing could still work if it got done in time they could save the little blond’s life he would be okay Hyde would be okay, but they needed to hurry, or else it would be too late. Why had he done this while could things be this bad why would he want to do this? Why would he have decided to die instead of live through whatever was wrong what was wrong for him right now?

“Doctor Lanyon? I’ve heard that talking to them can help, psychologically more than physically.” Archer suggested, still standing a few feet back. Griffin charged back into the room with the intravenous that sure enough, appeared to have come from Robert’s hospital. Great. What else had Henry stolen from him over the years?

“Hyde? Are you listening to me? You have made a frightful mess of something simple, you know.” Lanyon started tentatively.

“Oh, come on. The first thing you think to do is accuse him of something? That can’t be helpful.” Archer scoffed.

“Have you got a better idea?” Lanyon demanded. The seizing had stopped, Hyde was laying still. He was barely breathing at all.

“Got it!” Ito cried triumphantly, pouring her potion into the intravenous bag and walking over to hand the end to Lanyon. “Here, your turn. You’re the doctor, you know where it goes.”

Lanyon nodded, found the best spot he could on Hyde’s thin arms, stuck the needle into it and taped it down. Stood up, set up the drip to empty the bag in about twenty minutes. Hopefully it the right dose for that, but Lanyon doubted that things could go much worse.

He looked down at Hyde, who was still barely breathing at all, chest fluttering. Ito was washing up her station after preparing another bag full of another formula, Griffin was watching anxiously.

Robert began pacing.

It didn’t last long. “Doctor?” Archer’s voice startled him out of his distraction. “He’s not breathing.”

Filled with dread, Robert crouched down and felt for a pulse for a solid minute before giving up and frantically beginning chest compressions. “You are not dying on me now, Edward Hyde!” He growled.

There was no response. He continued until he couldn’t continue, he couldn’t force another compression.

He collapsed beside the blond.

Hyde still wasn’t breathing.


	14. Chapter 14

“Edward. Edward please Edward wake up Edward wake up Edward please wake up please please please wake up Edward you have to wake up please you have to wake up, Edward, please!” Robert begged, shaking the blond’s thin shoulders. His head lolled, flopped with the movement, but did not stir. He wasn’t breathing. He wasn’t breathing. He wasn’t breathing.

“Tweedy. Tweedy may be able to help but someone needs to start the compressions again. Archer, go and find Mister Tweedy, Griffin and I will continue to do the compressions. Doctor Lanyon will ensure that the intravenous continues flowing, I will prepare the second one.” Ito ordered. “Tell Tweedy to prepare to shock someone’s heart. Literally.”

Archer nodded, ran from the room. Griffin crouched down next to the… the corpse on the floor. “Lanyon? You need to tell me what to do.” He admitted, curling his hands together into a ball.

Lanyon looked over, unbuttoned Hyde’s shirt by tearing sharply downwards from the collar, letting the buttons pop off and fly around the room, to ensure proper placement since now it wasn’t his own hands, placed Griffin’s hands where he had been pressing. “Push down hard. Bones will move under what you’re doing but that is okay just keep his heart going.” He ordered, got up and watched the intravenous. It was empty.

“Ito! The next bag! It should still work a little bit, the poison needs to already be reacting with the antidote when… what is Tweedy going to do?” Lanyon asked.

“Electrocute him, it should restart Hyde’s heart. It may work, it may not, but either way it is worth the chance, since currently he is dead.”

“This is hard fucking work Archer had better be quick.” Griffin complained.

“Try doing it for ten minutes, Griffin.” Lanyon told him, swapping the empty fluids bag for the full on, let it start simply draining into Hyde’s veins. His heart was not beating was not drawing the fluid in, though Griffin was at least keeping his blood moving, so it would spread, a little.

If someone had told Robert Lanyon a week ago that he would be fighting this hard to save Edward Hyde after the little blond impish idiot stupid fucking coward scared little barely more than a child, he was so young, probably twenty years younger than Lanyon was he was still young and impressionable in some ways and his whole world had been turned upside down, he had only been scared, he’d been so scared…

But he would have thought anyone who told him that he would be fighting this hard to save Edward Hyde’s life, he would have thought that man was crazy. But now he was desperate, watching the intravenous bag, terrified, praying this crazy idea would actually work he had to pray this would actually work if it did not work then who knew what the hell he would do Edward Hyde had to pull through this he had to he had to he had to…

Lanyon’s head was starting to ache something fierce. For a moment, he did not know why exactly it was doing that, was it stress? Was something else wrong?

Wait. The cyanide poisoning was setting in he was exposed to it by being in direct contact with Edward Hyde he was getting poisoned just from exposure to Hyde but it did not matter he just had to save the blond and then he could go to the hospital and all would be well.

Hyde just had to live. He had to live. Lanyon kneeled down beside the still blond, finally started talking like Archer had suggested. “Edward… I’m sorry…” he murmured. Griffin was sweating, still compressing down on Hyde’s chest, didn’t comment on Lanyon’s words. “I’m sorry we let you get to the point that you felt this was your only option. I’m sorry you were scared. I’m sorry for what Henry did, I’m sorry for hating you for so long I am sorry about all of this…” he said softly. “I’m sorry that you lived a half-life, lived under Jekyll’s rule that you were so scared that you did not get to live like you should have…” He was but in his twenties maybe younger, perhaps that was an adult but to Lanyon, sitting at nearly forty years old that felt far too young, yet because he lived as part of Jekyll he was taken for older and everyone blamed him for his youthful actions, acted like he was terrible for being young and stupid…

“You’re going to be okay. You’re a fighter and you’re never going to give up, I know that. You just need to survive, and I know you will. Tweedy is going to save you he is going to take fucking pleasure in saving you, since he gets to electrocute someone.” Lanyon laughed a little. “And things will get better.”

“Are you going to keep him here, Doctor Lanyon? There are places that deal with insanity and suicidal tendencies, perhaps he should not remain in a place such as the society, full of chemicals and, well, rather easy ways to kill himself. Apologies if I am speaking out of place, you’re the doctor, but it does not seem safe for him to remain here, not right now.”

Lanyon sighed. Stared down at the little blond, limp on the ground, mouth agape, only movement being caused by Griffin’s compressions on his chest. “A friend of mine. A doctor of psychology. Yesterday or the day before… he recommended I have Mister Hyde admitted into Bedlam. I didn’t want to, it is a terrible fate and I know Bethlem Royal Hospital has a terrible reputation, but it is still safe from patients hurting themselves, which may be the most important part right now.”

“They are incredibly harsh with patients there, they are still trying to convince them to treat the patients like humans.”

“The doctor recommended a temporary admission unless symptoms like talking to reflections and shutting down continued to extended periods of time, and he will stop. Eventually reality will settle back in, he needs to be given the chance to accustom. I did not want to admit him there but if he is going to be drinking cyanide, it is the best place for him, as clearly I cannot handle him by myself.”

Ito considered that. “It is more than a fair idea, he is not making it easy to care for him, but I leave it to you to inform him that you are admitting him to Bedlam. I would not wish that fate on anyone.” She warned. “Hyde will not take kindly to this news, if he survives.”

“He doesn’t get a choice. He has told me far more than enough to have him committed into Bethlem Royal Hospital for the rest of his life.” Lanyon reasoned, sighing and combing Hyde’s blond hair out of his face. His green eyes were still closed. Apart from Griffin’s compressions stirring his chest, he looked peaceful. Quiet. Maybe even content but Lanyon did not allow himself to dwell on that. “He can’t complain or I will force him into it. He is not going to die like this I won’t give him the chance to try again.”

“Unless Tweedy fails.” Ito said darkly. “It has been fifteen minutes since he stopped breathing entirely it is not exactly easy to recover from that.”

Lanyon sighed. He, a doctor of medicine for the last fifteen years, knew damned well that Ito wasn’t wrong. Hyde had gotten no oxygen in the past fifteen minutes and trying to breathe into his lungs may be a sure way to die of cyanide poisoning.

He wasn’t prepared to risk it, but it ate at him that Hyde was getting no oxygen. That could be key cyanide inhibited respiration from truly being affective if he needed anything besides a heartbeat it was breath.

Maybe he should simply risk it. He was already poisoned, Lanyon was well aware of what his aching head and upset stomach were telling him, the longer he stayed in this room, the longer he stayed contaminated, the more he risked the poisoning getting worse, but he needed to save Hyde and therefore he could not leave the room, under no circumstances.

There was still a chance that just chest compressions would wake him up. Small, but there. It would help if someone was giving him the breaths of air he could not take.

“Miss Ito.” Lanyon said suddenly. She looked over at him.

“Yes Doctor Lanyon?”

He bit his lip. Sighed. “How quickly could you make a second dose of the antidote, if need be?” He questioned.

“In about fifteen minutes.”

“Could you start one?” He requested.

“Why?” She asked, a hand on her hip, suspicious look on her face. “No one else is badly poisoned, the affects should wear off or the hospital will be able to help, is that not true?” She said. “There should be no need to make another dose. Unless there is something you are not telling me.”

“I am about to do something that may increase our chance of saving Hyde’s life, but it is monumentally stupid and needs to have a failsafe built in. Otherwise known as I may need a dose of the antidote after this.” Lanyon explained with a sigh.

“Doctor? What are you about to do?”

“Mister Griffin is keeping Hyde’s heart breathing. He needs something else, too.”

“Which is?”

“Oxygen. Someone needs to breathe for him, he is in no state to do it himself.” Lanyon explained.

“Because he’s dead, as far as anyone can tell.” Ito pointed out. “Is this chance worth poisoning yourself?”

“Utterson promised to help Edward adjust to life by himself if need be, and I refused doctor Jekyll on the same promise. Time to prove that I will do what it takes now.”

Ito did not have a comment on that train of thought. So, Lanyon turned back towards Hyde while she lit her burner again, tipped the blond’s chin up, opened his mouth a little wider. Held his nose closed, bent down, well aware of what this would look like to someone who did not understand what was going on, covered Hyde’s mouth with his own, it was cold and that was a little worrying, and pushed three breaths into his lungs. Sat up with the taste of a very bitter almond on his mouth, sighed. He was definitely getting poisoned from this there was no way around it. The breaths swelled the blond’s chest but he did not react to them.

Griffin kept up compressions, now with sweat running down his face, Lanyon waited about half a minute before giving another three breaths. Had just sat up when Archer charged back into the room, gasping a little, pulled to a halt in front of Lanyon. “Mister Tweedy…” He trailed off, took another gasp of air, “said to tell you…” another gasp, “he’s prepping his stuff…” gasp, “meet him in his lab. Stuff can’t be moved here.”

“Where is his lab I don’t want to move Edward much right now.” Lanyon admitted. His head was pounding, he looked over at Ito. She smiled at him, motioned to the concoction she was making at the moment.

“All the way down the hall, second furthest from the chemistry lab, furthest being Sinnett and Luckett’s lab.” Griffin replied.

“What does Tweedy do again?” Another pause in the compressions would not do good things for Hyde, but perhaps it was worth it.

“He’s an engineer. Galvanic engineer. Loads of electricity, he loves to stuff.” Griffin explained. He sounded more than a little worn out. “Let’s pick him up and get him there, I’m fucking done with compressions, my arms and shoulders are about to fall off.”

“Yeah. Ito, keep working on the antidote I’m going to need it pretty soon.” Lanyon instructed. “Keep Griffin with you, he’s tired and knows a bit of what you’re doing in here. Archer, you’re with me.” Lanyon continued. “Push the intravenous, I’ll carry Hyde since I’m already poisoned and it can’t really get much worse without me drinking the shit myself.” He slipped an arm under the blond’s shoulders, another under his knees. Lifted him off the ground, he was heavier this time, entirely deadweight. Completely limp, flopped in Lanyon’s arms.

“Lead the way, Archer, there is no time to lose.” Lanyon encouraged. Archer nodded, and, tugging the intravenous along with him, ran for Tweedy’s lab. Robert scrambled after him, barely managing to keep his patient steady.

Tweedy’s lab was in fact across the entire society, and was a fairly long run for a doctor who did not do a lot of running, particularly not with a… well, hopefully not a technical corpse for long. Burst through the door of Tweedy’s lab to the humming sound of electricity. The man was waiting at the door. He had a dark scar across his eye, rumoured to be from when he had apparently been struck by lightning on the roof of this society. Lanyon wasn’t sure that was to be believed, but it was a likely hypothesis. Tweedy was absolutely the type who would climb up onto a roof in the middle of a lightning storm just to see the arcs, and then proceed to get struck by one.

“Come with me, and be quick about it.” The engineer instructed, walking quickly into the back of his lab, to a metal table that had clearly just been cleared off, several pieces of papers and equipment scattered on the ground around it. A huge machine with two metal forks protruding off of it stood at the head. “You’ll forgive me if my monthly report is late, I just spilled coffee on it clearing the desk. Lay him down, doctor, let’s get started. There no time to waste.” Tweedy, despite his outward appearance being quite loud, had a quiet voice and quick, agile movements. He quickly scaled the machine at the head of the bed and began attaching long ropes of wire to the two metals tines that stuck off it.

Lanyon walked over to the table. “Wait! We need to insulate the table!” Tweedy remembered, jumped down and found a plastic sheet to throw over it. “This is why it’s the paperwork table it conducts electricity.” He remembered as he did so. “There, put him on that and stick a wire into his chest. One here,” he poked a spot just above Hyde’s immobile heart, “And one here.” A spot around the bottom of his right ribs. “They need to go through his skin, Lanyon.” He added.

Lanyon nodded, twisted the ends of the wires together to form a makeshift needle, it would have hurt like hell going in if Hyde could feel anything right now, plunged one into his flesh, above the blond’s heart, the other around his ribs. Tweedy climbed back up the machine and finished attaching the wire to the metal tines. Hopped down.

“Okay, now no one touch him or you’ll be electrocuted. This is enough to start or _stop_ someone’s heart.” Tweedy warned. Everyone took a few steps back.

Tweedy walked over to the side of his machine, pulled down on a lever and electricity coursed and snapped down the tines and wires, arcing into the blond on the table. The nerves contracted, spine arching, fingers closing. Tweedy let it sit for a few moments before shutting it back down.

There were a few seconds of terrifying silence, and then finally, after what seemed like eternity, a gasp before the man on the table, and his chest began rising and falling again.

Hyde was alive.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Two things: One, this would never work. AED does not work after the heart is stopped, only when it's in fibrillation. (If I remember my CPR course). I attribute it to arcane science.   
> Two, I told you he was dead due to an old definition that defined death as the cessation or suspension or vital processes of the body, as heart beat and respiration. Due to being revived, in modern terms he was never dead.


	15. Chapter 15

Lanyon did not say a word for a few seconds. Just listened to the panting breaths coming from the blond on the table. They were already stronger than they had been before they had stopped, the antidote must have been doing its work, his stupid, impossible plan must have actually worked he had no idea how it had worked out, but it had, and Hyde was alive he was gasping on Tweedy’s table he was alive he was alive he was alive.

“Mister Archer? That antidote Miss Ito made me may be helpful to bring with us, but I believe I can make it to the hospital before I am in dire need of it. Edward should get to a hospital as soon as possible and everyone in this room, and Miss Ito and Mister Griffin, should go to a hospital to be monitored overnight. You have all been in close contact with the toxin. I want these rooms scrubbed down from top to bottom while we are away, so if you, Mister Tweedy, could arrange that, as you are the least contaminated and pose the least amount of risk finding someone to do it, it would be lovely. The chemistry lab, your lab and Jekyll’s office need to be completely decontaminated. Everything else can wait until we get to the hospital.” Lanyon instructed quickly, walking a little closer to the table. “In the meantime, I will need bandages, I am going to take the wires out and they are going to bleed a fair bit.” He decided, smiling down at the blond on the table. “Welcome back to the land of the living. You may be a record for longest gone without a heartbeat.” He tried to keep a light tone of voice, if there was one thing Hyde did not need right now it was added stress.

“Robert?” Edward’s voice was raspy and weak, but still filled with surprise. He clearly had not expected to live through that. Robert had not expected him to live through it either, in all honesty.

“Hello, Edward. Stay calm, you’re alright now. We just need to get to the hospital.” Robert assured him softly. “Miss Ito managed to make an antidote for the poison.”

“What landed on my chest?” Edward asked, apparently distracted from his state of being alive by the pain of his doubtlessly broken ribs. Robert sighed, shook his head.

“Nothing landed on your chest. We had to keep your heart beating, and so we were compressing your chest. Your ribs broke under the force, that is unfortunately fairly normal. They will heal sooner than you think.” The brunet told him.

“How am I alive?” He questioned, not bothering to try and sit up. Everything doubtlessly hurt far too much for him to move, carrying him to the hospital would be a nightmare. He could not imagine Hyde would take kindly to any form of transportation, it would all hurt, and probably hurt a lot. Lanyon did not look forwards to hurting this man further than he already was, but it was completely unavoidable. He knew that well.

“Because Miss Ito knew the antidote to cyanide off the top of her head, and frankly, I got poisoned for you, so if this is when you start telling me ‘I didn’t want to be alive I don’t regret it’ save it for when I’m out of the hospital and not risking dying of cyanide poisoning as well, got it, Edward?” Lanyon ordered, glaring down at the little blond, who cowered under his withering glare. He had finally opened his green eyes, they were bright and a little scared, a little confused. Robert sighed. “So? Are you mad at me now?”

“I don’t really know…” Edward Hyde admitted softly, looking away from Robert, quiet and subdued Robert was so tired of seeing him like this it was worrying Edward Hyde was boisterous and irritating, sure, young and maybe a little stupid, he wasn’t subdued like this. He shouldn’t be subdued like this, he needed to catch a break, catch his breath, allow himself the chance to recover and grow back into himself but everything kept going so drastic, and only some of it was Hyde’s fault.

Ito, Tweedy and Griffin walked into the room. “Lavender and Cantilupe dragged Maijabi and Mosley into helping them clean up the used rooms, Jekyll’s office will take an eternity even with all of them. We should get going to the hospital. Doctor Lanyon, are you certain that you are alright to get all the way there before a treatment?” Ito asked, raising an eyebrow. “Don’t be a hero the trip can spare twenty or so minutes.”

“Positive.” Lanyon agreed. “Let’s just get going I can be treated once we get there. Bring the antidote with you, though.”

“I already have it, Archer told me to grab it. How is Mister Hyde getting there, he is in no state to walk he just came back from the dead.” Ito pointed out.

“Which would have been insanely cool to see, if you had let us, Doctor Lanyon.” Griffin complained, eyes narrowed. “But we had to make this potion and all that…”

“To probably save my life.” Lanyon retorted, hands on his hips. “My apologies that you missed the revival, but I do not want to die. Christ, I have a headache. Let’s get going before we do need that antidote before we get there. I will carry Mister Hyde, you are correct in that he should not be walking right now.” the doctor turned back to the little blond patient, who slowly looked back up at him. “This is going to hurt, Mister Hyde, that is what broken ribs do to you. I’ll apologize but there is nothing I can currently do about it.” He warned.

Hyde just sighed. Clearly, he knew better than to try and complain after the sort of stunt he had just pulled. Lanyon had honestly thought he was going to die and all of the sudden he had been hit with just how much he did not want that to happen. He not only did not want the last fragment of Henry Jekyll’s soul gone, since that was not a fair way to think about Hyde, he did not want Edward Hyde himself dead. The thought hurt far more than it should have, considering he had hated Edward Hyde for years. Somehow in the last few days he had become endearing.

Lanyon picked him up as he had twice before already, the blond cried out in pain but did not squirm or try to get away, just eventually settled against the doctor’s chest, breathing deeply and heavily. He closed his green eyes again, Lanyon sighed. “Let’s get going we’re running out of time here.”

“The world feels like it is spinning…” Edward said softly, mumbling into Robert’s shirt. His fingers curled into the soft fabric of the doctor’s shirt, curled tightly into the man’s chest. His breathing was a little easier, despite the obvious pain he was in. Sweat beaded on Hyde’s forehead, he was still pale.

“Well, let’s keep moving, we need to get to the hospital, and quickly.” Ito prompted, walking out the door. Archer followed after her, and then Griffin, and then Tweedy after the biochemist.

Lanyon sighed, walked out of the room. The movement jostled Hyde, who let out a soft sort of whine. “Sorry, this is going to hurt, and I cannot fix that for you, I am afraid.” The doctor said softly. “You will just have to manage I know a hospital not far from here. You’ll be alright, otherwise.”

Hyde nodded, though he did not look very reassured. It wasn’t like anything Lanyon had said di anything but admit that he was going to be in pain for a while now. If it weren’t for the fact that is had saved the little blond’s life, Lanyon would feel bad for having broken his ribs. That was not going to be fun to recover from, especially for a man who liked to run around on rooves in the middle of the night for fun.

However, if Hyde had really wanted to keep up that behaviour he should not have drank cyanide. It would be hard to run on rooftops from inside a room in Bedlam, and Lanyon was going to take his psychologist friend’s advice and have Hyde committed for about a month. Not long, just long enough for him to do some recovering. He was worrying Lanyon at the moment, and there was no way the doctor could trust him not to try and kill himself again. For that reason, he stayed in Bedlam.

It was a little chilly outside, Lanyon found out the moment that he stepped outside. Hyde, shirt torn open and without any sort of coat, almost immediately began shivering. Lanyon sighed, but yet again there was nothing he could do about it. He did not even a have coat for himself never mind one for Hyde.

So the blond got to shiver, to curl up a little closer to Lanyon. That was all he really could do.

And Lanyon was warm. He didn’t feel that way, but he knew his skin would be heating up, flushing from the cyanide poisoning. So, it might actually help Edward to curl into his chest. Therefore, he didn’t argue. Just continued to follow the trail of people now headed for the hospital. In the course of less than an hour Lanyon had managed to get a lot of lodgers in direct contact with cyanide. It was quite unfortunate, but they should all be alright after visiting the doctor’s, that was a bonus.

It was Hyde that was not going to be okay after the doctor’s, because Robert did not intend to mention the idea of Bedlam until after he was in an entirely stable condition.

He already knew it would go terribly, but he had to do it anyways because the society was not safe for Hyde anymore he was not going to allow the blond to go home or the society in between the hospital and Bedlam he simply could not trust him not to do anything stupid again and until he could, he needed Hyde somewhere safe.

Edward had not really stirred but to shiver and curl up against Lanyon since they had stepped outside. Concerned, Robert looked down at him, but he was breathing deeply, eyes closed.

“Best guess is that he’s sleeping.” Tweedy declared. “May as well let him, he’s been through a lot lately.” He suggested. “Sure, some of it is his own fault, but he didn’t ask Doctor Jekyll to kill himself, and everything seems to have spiralled downwards from there.” The engineer continued. “I don’t like the story, but he deserves some pity.”

“He told me he’s younger than most people think he is.” Lanyon said with a sigh. “There’s too much on his shoulders for the age he really is. Too much stress around him I guess it just finally broke him once Jekyll was gone and the lodgers turned against him.” The doctor looked over at Griffin and Archer. “I don’t think you two helped the case whatsoever, nor Mister Sinnett.” He accused, frowning at the two men, who had the decency to look embarrassed and ashamed.

Being called a failure hurt. Lanyon knew that. He had failed to save someone’s son once and that had been all he had heard for a few months, that he was a failure. He had nearly never managed to step back into a hospital room, to try and operate to save someone. It was a heavy blow to get passed.

And Hyde didn’t have another patient. Hyde didn’t have another chance to prove he wasn’t a failure and things would be just as bad for him if he wasn’t one. He wasn’t pure evil, so he was a failure and there was nothing he could do about it.

“Sorry, doctor Lanyon. It is a hard thing to accept, though-” Lanyon cut Griffin off before he could finish the statement.

“Spare both Hyde and I the excuses, and need I remind you that you owe Mister Hyde the apologies, not me?” Lanyon asked sharply. “He is the one that you hurt, not me. Considering what Jekyll had to do for you both, in keeping you out of the hands of crazy anti-science people and the law, you would think you both would know better than to try and destroy someone like you did, but you both still did it!” The doctor continued. “You both ought to be ashamed of yourselves, and don’t think that Sinnett is exempt he just isn’t here right now, and I will not tolerate you making excuses in your apologies.”

Archer huffed. Griffin smacked his arm. “Yes, doctor Lanyon.”

“Good. We’re here. Get inside, report yourselves as suffering from mild cyanide poisoning. For the moment I need Miss Ito and her antidote with myself and mister Hyde.” Robert instructed. “Tweedy, you can go with them.”

The three scientists scurried inside.

“Come along, doctor Lanyon, we ought not to delay your treatment and they should get Hyde under observation sooner rather than later.” Ito said, tapping her foot impatiently against the ground until Lanyon stepped through the door into the brightly lit hospital.

The three he had sent in ahead of him were already being ushered away. He walked up to the front desk.

“More poisonings?” The woman asked. “You all seem to be together.”

“Yes. Miss Virginia Ito has an antidote prepared since I knew I was badly poisoned, Mister Edward Hyde here has been treated with the antidote, but he should be placed under observation in case of a relapse.” Lanyon explained.

“Okay, so patients are Edward Hyde, Virginia Ito and you are?” The woman asked.

“Doctor Robert Lanyon.”

“Gotcha. Now, you go lay Mister Hyde out on that cot there and I’ll have doctors take him into a quarantined recovery zone, he shouldn’t be exposed to people who are still poisoned for extended periods of time. Miss Ito, you may follow Mister Griffin, Mister Archer and Mister Tweedy, doctors will look after you there. Doctor Lanyon, you are with me.” The woman instructed. Lanyon nodded, laid the little blond out on the cot. He didn’t wake, and if it weren’t for the rise and fall of his chest Lanyon would have thought Edward had relapsed and stopped breathing again.

But his chest was rising and falling in a steady rhythm, so Lanyon left him lying there and followed the lady from the front desk.

The world was spinning around him. He took a few steps and had to lean against the wall.

Great, the poison had held off just long enough for him to get here, and now he was going to be dragged down by it. That was ideal.

He took a few more steps and felt his knees give out under him, and collapsed onto the ground.


	16. Chapter 16

Hyde was not having a fun time in the London general hospital.

Namely because someone had not believed that he was no longer wanted and while he was under observation for a relapse of cyanide poisoning that he still was not convinced he didn’t want to just take him under, especially now, he was also tied to the bedframe and awaiting a visit from London’s finest.

“Just tell us the truth, Mister Hyde, it will be easier when the police get here, we can just tell them you have confessed and keep you under arrest here until we know for sure you have recovered. Otherwise, Brokenshire might insist on interviewing you now, even if it means you being removed from our care.” The doctor prompted.

Hyde was not in the mood to deal with this. His mouth was full of cotton, he had two rather large holes in his chest from wires being stabbed into it, as well as lightning bolt fractal lines exploding out from either one, from being a electrocuted, those hurt like hell how the fuck had Tweedy been so _happy_ to be struck by lightning this was the absolute worst, his head still ached from the poison, his stomach was roiling uncomfortably, he had a fucking hole in his arm from an IV line that had barely gotten a bandage slapped on it before the police were called, and to top it off, as well as various other aches and pain from being electrocuted, he imagined that wasn’t good for basically his entire body, no one in this stupid hospital would listen to a damned word he said, even though they were the ones asking the bloody questions. It was fucking infuriating.

“I have nothing to confess, Doctor, I just told you earlier that Henry Jekyll, the man I supposedly told all the events of that night to, just managed to get me proved innocent. The fire was all on Doctor Moreau’s shoulders, look at him if you want to play the blame game. I’m only here because I drank some cyanide.” The blond told him, tugging irritably on the restraining pieces of rope that tied both his hands to the bedframe. “I’m not a wanted criminal, if you would bother to pay attention before tying people up and calling the police, you would know better than to waste Scotland Yard’s time with a person who has been proven innocent!”

“But I don’t believe that. No one has even seen you since those interviews that you reportedly fled the scene on both accounts to avoid capture. If you had wanted to prove you were innocent, you would have allowed yourself to be captured and then let evidence prove you innocent!” The doctor pointed out.

Hyde sighed, rolled his vivid green eyes, winced when it only made his head hurt worse. “Henry Jekyll is the one who told me that I was under no uncertain circumstances to allow them to capture me, and that if I stayed free they were forced to continue looking for me and more evidence. Good thing, because I could be on trial for arson I did not commit at this point, instead of a free man, like I rightfully should be.” He paused. “Besides, I am technically still contagious, do you really want Brokenshire in here as well as a doctor?”

“Keep up that reasoning and you’ll just stay tied to the bed for even longer, until we deem you safe to be around again.” The doctor warned. “Just shut up and deal with it, if you really are innocent why would you complain so much to being investigated?”

“Because I’ve done nothing but be investigated for the passed few weeks and it has gotten rather old rather fast! It would be nice if one person in the whole damned world would believe me for once!” Hyde complained, but even just that much fuss had his head pounding ten times worse than before and he sighed, just giving up on getting around Scotland Yard and stupid Brokenshire. As much as he hated that ginger-haired bastard as much as any other rule bender in town, it wasn’t like there was anything the man could arrest him for. He was a free man now. Brokenshire would see him, ask a few questions, and leave. And the doctor would be humiliated for ever not trusting Hyde.

He just had to wait for the sergeant to get here, of course. That could be a while. God knew two things about London’s finest. One, they weren’t actually that fine, they were pretty ruddy terrible, two, they were slow. Slow as hell, and Hyde was fed up with being tied to the bedframe. It was annoying and demeaning.

But apparently no doctor in this damned hospital was going to believe that he had not lit a block of London on fire. Why would he intentionally light a block of London on fire he _liked_ London. He couldn’t be the Spirit of London at Night if there was no London. Something was off about being the Spirit of a City That I Burned Down. That would just be stupid he would have to pick another city if he did that, just to have a title again! That would just be dumb it was best to leave London standing it was Moreau’s stupid flamethrower that had lit a London block on fire and _maybe_ he had helped a little bit by knocking down the caber, but he had only been trying to help Frankenstein’s creature that was a legitimate goal!

There was a knock on the door. “Reception said that I would find the criminal in here?”

“He has been exposed to cyanide you’ll want a mask.”

“I wasn’t exposed I _drank_ it and you’re really making me wish I had actually _died_!” Hyde told the doctor angrily. “Then I wouldn’t be tied to a bloody hospital bed because no one fucking _believes_ that I’ve been proved innocent!”

Brokenshire peered in the room. “Oh. It’s you, again.” He muttered to himself. “Doctor, I can take it from here if you could give me a mask. Is he safe to talk for a few minutes without dying?”

“Let me know if he starts looking more sick than he already does.” The doctor replied, and left the room.

Brokenshire, in all his stupid, ginger glory, stepped in a few seconds later. Hyde huffed, wishing he could fold his arms but he was tied by the wrists to the stupid bedframe. “Hi. It’s me again, could you untie me and tell the stupid doctors here that I’m innocent? Jekyll told me the other day.”

Brokenshire sighed. “Yeah, yeah, I'll get that back to them.” He said irritably.

“Good. Hey, can I press charges for harassment? I feel pretty harassed and I’m a free man.”

“You were wanted until two days ago, you can press charges, but they won’t go anywhere, trust me.” Brokenshire told him. “Why am I not surprised to hear you shout that you _drank_ cyanide like its some sort of achievement?”

“I just wanted that cleared up, if I was only exposed I would be down in a different observation area with Ito and Tweedy and Griffin and Archer.” Hyde pointed out with a sigh.

“Listen. While you are here, I would like to talk to you about something.” Brokenshire told him.

“Well, ask away, but before you do, untie my hands.” Hyde offered. “Once you do that I’m mister cooperation. Until then I’m the good old-fashioned unhelpful Mister Hyde that everyone knows and probably hates!”

Brokenshire glared at him for a few minutes, but Hyde did not budge from his answer. He was getting out of this stupid rope restraints before he did _anything_ useful. That was not up for debate, as Brokenshire was about to find out.

So, the sergeant crouched down and untie the ropes around Hyde’s wrists. The blond immediately sat up a little, rubbed the flesh that had spent the last hour or two being worn away by the rope. It was tender to the touch, he sighed, shifted and leaned back against the headboard. It was nice not to be forced into lying down anymore, that was frustrating beyond human comprehension. “So, sergeant? What did you need to ask me about?” The blond asked, it wasn’t like he was someone that went back on his word, and he had said that if Brokenshire untied him, he would help.

“You seemed to know Doctor Jekyll well, Mister Hyde, and I was wondering if you knew anything of his disappearance. He has missed his last couple appointments, and he never does that, so people had been asking me about him. He is normally fairly punctual, or informs people of when he will not be capable of attending a meeting.” Brokenshire told him with a sigh. “To be honest, after hearing that he has been completely absent from society since he exonerated you, I was a little worried. I am not saying that you did it, but I do wonder where he may have gone off to.”

Oh god. Oh god. He and Lanyon and Utterson had never discussed what they were telling the police this was a disaster what could he say to Brokenshire what if Brokenshire turned around and asked Robert the same question and their answers did not match then Brokenshire would know something was wrong and he would be placed back under investigation but this time not for arson but for murder the murder of Henry Jekyll and they would find no evidence against that claim so he would hang for murder and that was that.

But he had to say something. “I haven’t heard from Henry since he told me that I had been proved innocent. I had a conversation with him then, and that was the last I saw of him.” He said with a sigh. “Do you really think that something may have happened to Henry? That is a disaster! I did notice that he had not been around the society, since being proven innocent I was given my job back and he did not seem to be there. But I work nights and thought maybe he had simply retired to his home, and that something was stressing him out so much that he was leaving early. It would be the first time I remember him doing so, but it is not an impossible idea, I do not think.”

“I have another question, Mister Hyde, if you do not know anything about what may have happened to Doctor Jekyll…” Brokenshire gave him another chance to confess any knowledge. Hyde shrugged his shoulders.

“Truly, I am sorry, and concerned, Doctor Jekyll is a good friend of mine, but I do not know where he may have gone.” He insisted.

“Then I ask my next question: Why did you decide it was a good idea to drink cyanide?”

“Because I am not a religious man, and I was tired of living this life, so I tried to give it up, as in my belief system no harm will come to me because of it. You read the situation right, Brokenshire, I did try to kill myself, and I am certain that a certain Doctor Robert Lanyon whom happened to find me after I had done so will make me pay for it yet.” Hyde replied with a sigh.

“Suicide normally gets people locked in prison or Bethlem Royal Hospital, Mister Hyde, you are aware of that, correct?” Brokenshire asked pointedly, raising an eyebrow. “In older times it would get you hung, until the law realized that was pointless.”

“If you ask Doctor Lanyon, perhaps Bedlam is still in the plans for me. I was mostly out of it on the way here, spent much of the journey asleep. Fighting cyanide poisoning is exhausting work, I will have to report back to you at a later date to inform you of whether or not it is worth the effort.” The blond said with a half-hearted smile.

Brokenshire did not seem to appreciate the jest. He continued frowning at Edward.

“What would you like me to say, Sergeant? Place me under arrest again if you so insist but so help me god do not tie me to the bed again. Even Bedlam is better than that. You might speak to Doctor Lanyon of his plans for me, he is also in this hospital. Cyanide poisoning is a very viral thing, you see, spreads through any sort of contact, and I had to be revived. I have the electrical scars to prove it.” Hyde said dryly. “Being electrocuted is not fun.”

“I cannot imagine how I had already guessed that, Mister Hyde.”

“Well to be fair I was pretty dead when Mister Tweedy flipped the switch, if we want to say that no heartbeat and no breathing is dead.” Edward confessed. “I don’t remember much of the electricity part.”

“Do you know what? You are just as insufferable to deal with as I remember you to be, so I am just going to leave your fate in the capable hands of Doctor Lanyon. I shall inform the hospital that staff you are to be treated as an innocent man.” The sergeant decided, shaking his head.

“Well, I should hope you still remember how insufferable I am, I only spoke to you last week and I exist to leave an impression, though good, bad or otherwise is completely up to you!” Edward said with a much more enthusiastic grin than he had worn before. “Always a pleasure speaking to you!” He lied.

Brokenshire did not bother. “I wish I could say the same to you, Mister Hyde.”

“Ouch.” The blond pretended to be offended.

Once the sergeant had left, he laid back down. The doctor walked back in a few minutes later. “So, you really are an innocent man, hmm?”

“I told you that, and you would not believe me.” Hyde replied, huffing. “It is rather annoying to have no one believe you when you tell them you are innocent. If I burned down anything I would be quite proud of that fact, you would not have me laying here lying to you about not having done it. I would be shouting it from the literal rooftops!” He taunted, stretching a little and wincing in pain. “Say, how long am I under observation around here? I feel a fair bit better, apparently I just needed a lengthy conversation with one of London’s finest for absolutely no reason at all!”

The doctor sighed, glared at the little blond. “Doctor Lanyon has asked us to hold you here for as long as he needs to remain at the hospital, and your poisoning was worse than his, so you will be remaining under observation for the next forty-eight hours, and then we will place you back in Doctor Lanyon’s care, he assures us he can manage you.”

Hyde let out a pained little giggle. “He is a mislead, brave man!”


	17. Chapter 17

“Can we go home now?” Edward asked impatiently, tapping his foot on the wooden floor of the hospital with increasing impatience, making Robert more and more tempted to lean over and punch him in the face. The blond had only been resting for about a day before he was up and running around and getting in everyone’s hair. Especially Robert’s.

But he couldn’t bring himself to tell Hyde off, because he knew something that the little blond didn’t, and that was that Edward Hyde was not going home after this hospital trip.

He did not quite know when he would inform Edward that he was not going back to his apartment, nor the society of arcane sciences. He could not be trusted like that, arguably, he could not be trusted whatsoever.

He had spoken once again to his friend in psychology. Arranged for him to meet Edward Hyde, to better understand the ‘hypothetical situation’ that had been described to him earlier in the week. Lanyon was not stupid enough to believe that Edward would share was what really going on with the psychologist, but Lanyon himself would, and the meeting was only half of the arrangement Lanyon had set up.

The second, which Lanyon felt much worse about doing to Hyde, was a two month stay in the Bethlem Royal Hospital. Effective as of tonight, following when he and Edward were discharged from the London General Hospital. His friend had tried to insist on six months, then an evaluation to see if it should last a full year, but Lanyon had insistently talked him down to two months. After learning about Hyde’s attempt on his own life, using cyanide, the doctor had refused to go back down to the suggestion of one month from earlier.

Robert could not fully blame him. So, he had talked his friend down to two months and stayed there. Hyde did need help, perhaps more than he could be offered in a month. Even though Robert did not want to admit it and allow Hyde to be detained for longer, it could even take longer than two months. It may be pushed to three, or four, five or even the six that his friend had desired. They would have to evaluate at the end of the two month stay.

Robert had decided, though, that he would not allow the stay to last longer than six months. He would not risk Hyde being trapped there forever, he would be a free man in no longer than six months.

He knew that if things were still bad, he would likely have to fight for that. The doctors at the practice would be incredibly reluctant to let a patient they did not believe to yet be stable go, but Robert would not allow them to keep the young man any more than six months. He still felt as though two was enough.

“We can go as soon as the hospital brings me something to wear that a doctor can be seen on the streets in, Mister Hyde.” Robert replied.

The formality wormed its way back into his speech with the guilt, but Edward did not seem to think anything of it. Perhaps the young man believed it to be due to the fact that they were in public, and public was the house of formalities. It was a fair point that Robert should refer to him as mister anyways, since they were in a hospital, but that was not why he was doing it.

He felt horribly guilty. Especially in the fact that he had instructed the driver of the carriage they would be in not to stop before their destination unless he _heard_ Lanyon telling him to, so that Hyde knocking on the side of the wall would not make him stop the horses so the blond could dart out into the streets. And he was not going to tell Hyde where they were going until they were in the carriage.

Not that he really believed that Hyde was in the sort of state that he would put up a fight. Hyde was, despite the fact that he had his energy back in full after drinking a fatal mix of cyanide and wine just two days before. That was entirely not fair since Robert was still low on energy two days after simply giving mouth to mouth resuscitation, and being in the room while they were looking after him.

Well, on the bright side, Hyde had his energy back, but his chest was still burned, and his ribs were still broken, so he was not doing as much running around as he probably would have liked. Therefore, Robert could almost guarantee that Hyde would not actually try and run once they were on their way to Bedlam. He just had to let the blond think nothing was wrong for the next few minutes.

Finally, a doctor knocked on the door, placed a pile of clothing on the corner of the bed for Lanyon and dragged Hyde out of the room so that the doctor could get dressed in peace.

They were not his ideals for colours, not at all, but they would do. He had been given a white shirt, black waistcoat and jacket, black pants, red tie. Fine. Fair enough, it would do just to get to Bethlem hospital and back to his apartment.

He did not fully know what he would do once Hyde was not his charge. It had only been a few days, but it felt routine to look after the little blond. He supposed he would inform the police of Jekyll’s absence, not that they wouldn’t know yet, Jekyll had meetings with everyone all the time and he would have missed the last few days worth, which would not have gone unnoticed. Within three months, another reason to have Edward out of the hospital in two, the will would be in effect and everyone would mutually accept what Gabriel, Robert, Edward and the lodgers knew already:

Henry Jekyll was dead.

With a sigh, Robert pulled on the clothes and stepped out into the hall, smiling at Edward. “Come along, I have arranged transport for us, it should be waiting outside.” The doctor said with a smile. “You will be grateful for not having to walk eventually, if not today.”

Edward did not question him, followed quietly out to the carriage. The steps were lowers, the door opened, both the little blond and the doctor crawled into the little sitting area.

Hyde curled up beside the closed window, thankfully did not decide to draw back the closed curtains. Robert settled himself in across from the blond.

The carriage lurched into motion as the horses began moving.

There were a few moments of silence. “We aren’t going back to the society, are we? Or my apartment, or yours, or anywhere like that.” Hyde accused, narrowing his green eyes.

Robert bit his lip, stared down at his lap. “I am afraid we are not, Mister Hyde.” He agreed with a sigh.

“Then… then do me a favour and do not tell me where we are going, I fear I would rather not know…” The sound of Hyde’s voice suggested that he already knew exactly where the carriage was headed. Hyde knew London like the back of his hand he could probably tell where they were headed just by feeling the turns they were taking.

Robert should have thought of that before trying to hide it from Edward where they were taking him. He should have known that Hyde would figure it out and somehow, he felt as though he should have known that the reaction would not be anger, which would lead Robert to grow defensive and back up his decision, but with sadness and fear, so that all Edward’s voice reinforced in Robert’s head and heart was guilt.

He should have talked to Hyde. He should have at least mentioned this idea before trapping him in the carriage. “Edward-”

“Don’t. I don’t want to know, clearly it was not my business to decide what happens to me, if that’s how it was then don’t tell me now. I don’t want to know where you’re taking me, Robert.” Hyde said quietly. Closed his eyes.

Robert wondered if he did see a tear run down the blond’s cheek or not.

He had completely taken Hyde’s control on his life away from him. No wonder the blond was upset he had every right to be upset Robert had walked in and yanked his control away. “Edward, please. Hear me out.” He murmured. “I should have told you, you are right.”

“Why should I hear you out! If I’m not wrong, you are taking me to- to-”

“An asylum.” Robert confirmed, sighing. “Edward, they are not what people still think they are they brought in the lunacy act thirty-nine years ago…”

“The fact that you are defending where you are bringing me by telling me an act about _lunatics,_ like I am one, was passed forty years ago does not encourage this situation.” Edward told him. He still wasn’t looking at the doctor. “I’m not a lunatic, Robert!”

“I know you are no lunatic, Edward, but you are missing something in your head that staying with psychologists in a calm environment would help you recover a little bit. Not to mention I apparently can’t trust you not to drink cyanide when my back it turned. You aren’t staying for long. Two months, I tried to talk my friend into one month like he had suggested in the first place, but your suicide attempt made it so that he would not budge. He wanted six months, in fact.”

“I don’t know why you think you can lock me in an asylum without my consent!”

“You are going to consent, Edward, because the story that myself and the psychologist both have heard is enough to have you committed. Not a soul will believe the story without the proof that you gave _me._ They may, however, believe that your belief in this story led you to murder Henry Jekyll. Given that he just disappeared… that looks like you being committed as criminally insane, and then you are _never_ getting out. So, you’ll consent.” Robert told him, suddenly stern, frowning at the blond, who stared at him in alarm.

“So, if I don’t agree to let you lock me up for two months, then you’re going to get me accused of murder, and not only that a murder you know I didn’t do?”

“I won’t accuse you of anything. I will tell the Bedlam doctors your tale, and they will connect the dots.” Lanyon told him. “I am not being responsible for you until I can trust you again. I can trust you again when the doctors at Bedlam tell me you are okay.”

Hyde just stared at him in devastation, eyes full of hurt from being betrayed, god, he had trusted Lanyon and Lanyon knew that, until the carriage pulled to a halt and the driver walked over and opened the door, helped them out. Hyde went reluctantly, refused to even look at the tall building before them.

It was sealed off, with a large, intricate wrought iron gate, the fence made of stone and cement.

The building itself was long and wide, with a tall cathedral-like piece on the middle, a large entrance with huge stone pillars, like an ancient Greek temple. It was hauntingly beautiful.

He led the blond up to the doors, rapped on them sharply with a fist.

The door swung open. “Robert!” A portly man cried rapturously. “I could not help be here to meet your mystery patient.”

“Alexander, it is good to see you. This is Edward Hyde, the patient I told you about.” Robert said with a sigh. “And he does not want to be here. At all.” He warned, ushering the blond through the door. Hyde was moving stiffly, still staring at the ground.

The floors were plush carpet. His feet sunk into it.

“I can tell, and cannot frankly blame him. Is it true what you say about the Doctor Jekyll? And this young lad?”

“No!” Edward snapped.

“Yes.” Robert replied.

“Robert Lanyon that is _not_ your secret to divulge to people!” Edward snarled. “I told you that, and you insisted that we tell Utterson, and due to situation, the lodgers had to find out, but you cannot just keep telling everyone!”

“Edward, I had already told the man the situation he simply lacked names until yesterday.” Robert told him irritably.

“Robert, this is no way to deal with your patient.” Alexander scolded, walking over and shoving him away from the blond. “Mister Hyde, come and talk to me. Ignore Robert, I shall go over the plan here, we are not committing you for life, see, we just wish to make sure that you are not a danger to yourself.” The psychologist explained.

“What makes you think I am interested in what you have to say. I want _out_ of here, but someone has decided that if I don’t agree willingly he will get me committed by murder through insanity.” Edward spat at the doctor. “So since neither of you will let me _out of here_ then take me to where I am meant to spend my next few months. I do _not_ want to speak to you, and I _certainly_ do not want to speak to Robert Lanyon, so take me to where I am supposed to stay and _leave me in peace._ ” He ordered. “I want nothing to do with either of you. Especially,” he spun around, cloak, when the hell had he gotten his own clothes from, swirled out around him, “since I believed that I could _trust_ you, Robert Lanyon, and you threw it back in my face! I told you everything I gave you the journal and you threw me here!”

“You tried to kill yourself, Edward!” Robert retorted angrily. “I ‘threw’ you here because I could not trust you not to drink down cyanide the moment my back is turned! So, you are staying here until Alexander believes you to be safe, and then you can do as you please! But I am not going to watch you destroy yourself the way that Henry Jekyll destroyed himself! I will not allow you to both go down like that!”

“What I do with my life is _up to me_ , not you!” Edward shouted.

“Enough!” Alexander roared. “Robert, await me in the main office. Mister Hyde, come with me I shall lead you to your room. By the way, for both of you, that is _non-optional._ ”

Robert was stunned to notice that Hyde still did not seem truly mad. There were tears in his brilliant green eyes as he stared at Robert, and eventually let himself be led away from Robert, down the brightly lit halls, and a ball of horrid guilt curled in his stomach as he walked down to the main office.

Alexander returned about fifteen minutes later. “That is no way to deal with a patient, Robert Lanyon!” He snapped. “Either way, I do not want to hear your petty excuses. Listen carefully, Robert. I do not want to see you in this hospital for two weeks. Then you can visit as often as you and he would like, but give him time to settle himself into his surroundings. This is a shock and you did not handle it well at all. I _asked_ you if you wanted me to pick him up from the hospital and given that you utterly refused, I assumed you had a good way to handle giving the news! Now leave he and I in peace!”

Robert left the hospital.


	18. Chapter 18

The last two weeks had been stressful for Lanyon to say the very least about the situation.

Robert Lanyon had been playing over the conversation and then argument he had had with Edward Hyde at least once a day since he had left the hospital. Seen the tears, the hurt, the betrayal painted on his pale skin as he had been brought into the hospital that they both knew he had no reason to think he would ever leave. The poor boy had reason to stress and freak out, it was a terrible fate and Robert had known that when he cast it on Hyde.

He knew that he and Alexander knew this was for the best, in the end it would help Hyde more than hinder him, but it did not make it any easier to accept that he was doing it to a man who had, in fact, trusted him with a major secret. He did not _really_ want to make Edward Hyde stay in Bedlam for the next two months, but he did not want to deal with him sneaking along behind the doctor and drinking cyanide when Lanyon’s back was turned, and talking to mirrors that had no one but himself in them.

Lanyon had accepted that he was a doctor of medicine, and not a doctor of psychology. He was not an expert in helping those who were insane, the way that Hyde was plummeting with stunning speed.

He still had a little bit of sympathy for the blond, inside, he knew that Hyde was desperate and scared and alone. But that was not a problem he could fix.

So, Lanyon had decided to help in some way that he could now that Hyde had residency in Bedlam. He had been to the blond’s apartment, had fetched a few creature comforts that Alexander had said he could bring.

They were painstakingly few. Lanyon had been through the house, searching for personal items, but Hyde appeared to not have much to his name. Nothing much of any sentimental value, at least. In the end, Lanyon had brought the ratty old blanket from the blond’s bed, and his swiss cheese cloak because even if it seemed like junk, it clearly meant something to Hyde.

They were two things that would hopefully feel a little like home for the blond. He did not want Hyde to lack comfort. He had already been wrested from his life and forced into a strange place, synonymous with grievance and abuse and pain and mistreatment, but Lanyon knew he would be fine. It would take more than Bethlem Royal Hospital could throw to ruin Edward Hyde.

Henry Jekyll had never managed it, after all.

He still felt bad for making the blond stay there, though.

Robert sighed, got up. He was leaving for the hospital in a few short minutes and had best be prepared to leave. He folded the ragged black blanket and the cloak, placed them to the side as he tugged on his shoes, gloves and hat. Stepped through his door and into the carriage awaiting him.

Last time they had been in a carriage, Hyde had not known what had been coming for him. Now he had been suffering that for two weeks. What would he be like when Robert arrived today? Clawing at the walls? Yelling and screaming? Just babbling on to Henry like he had been doing at first?

Would he still be mad at Robert? The doctor would not be able to find blame if Edward was still mad at him, the blond had every right to yell and scream and push the doctor and his offerings away, since the doctor was the one who had allowed him to be locked away in his prison.

He wondered for a moment if Hyde had seen the sky in the last two weeks. Felt a sudden surge of guilt at the thought the poor boy probably hadn’t, he would have to make sure to get permission to take him on a walk through the grounds. Poor thing was probably stir crazy by now.

“Sir? We’re here.” The chauffeur announced, pulling the door open and helping Robert out of the carriage and onto his feet on the cobblestone street leading up to the hospital.

“Thank you.” Lanyon said with a smile, walking up towards the wrought iron gate, waited for the guards to open it, and walked down the drive, knocked on the tall wooden door.

It was pulled open by Alexander himself, who sighed. “I should have known you would be here the moment I would allow it.” He muttered. “Edward Hyde is still in a great amount of distress, Robert. I will not stop you from seeing him, perhaps in some wild way it will actually manage to help him, but I beg you, be careful with him. He is not entirely stable, and you could do real harm without even trying to. I warn you now, if you begin to argue with him and yell at him again, I will have you removed from the premises and you will have to send someone else to see him if you want him to have company.”

Robert nodded. “Just take me to see him, Alexander.”

“Very well. I keep most doctors away from his room as often as I can, other than those whom I informed of the situation and had them vow confidence. He talks to Henry Jekyll, mirror or no mirror.”

Robert bit his lip. That had been a fear of his, that Edward would continue to talk to Henry, and that it would grow progressively worse. “Does it grow worse over time?”

“Yes, with every passing day.” Alexander admitted with a heavy sigh.

“Then perhaps this is not the ideal treatment for him.”

“The alternative is his home remedy of drinking a glass of wine and cyanide, Robert, you know that.” Alexander warned, crossing his arms. “You can’t possibly be suggesting that you want to remove him from the hospital’s care, can you, Robert?”

“I do not know yet, I would have to see him. Alexander, have you allowed him outside? He is barely more than a child and he is driven by needs that every human has. That you and I know that everyone has.” Robert argued, frowning at the man.

“No, he has not been out, but I imagine that you will insist on bring him for a walk as you insisted on bring him those filthy old rags.” Alexander said, tone huffy and frustrated.

“I brought him a small amount of his life. He does not own sentimental belongings, but I believed that these may help make him feel more at home.” Robert snapped. “Keep arguing with my logic, Alexander, and I will take _my patient_ back into _my care._ ” He snarled. Alexander looked startled for a second. “Edward Hyde is still my patient, I have placed him under your care with the belief that his situation could be better handled by you, and if you cannot show him the barest sympathy and kindness, he will be pulled from your care immediately!” Robert shouted as he continued.

"Very well, now follow me, if you insist on coming in here and causing a fuss!”

He started off down the hall. Robert tucked the _rags_ under his arm and walked down the hall after his psychologist friend. Down passed shrieking and crying and shouting and scratching. “He is not in this wing. We have a quieter wing down this way, I put him in that one, since he needs some peace and quiet.” Alexander explained.

That, at least, was reassuring. Hyde had a little bit of sanctuary.

“Here, I shall leave you two in peace. You may take him outside _on the grounds of the hospital_ and no where else.” Alexander handed him a key.

It was a wooden door, heavy and wide. A slot could be opened, bars across it.

Robert pressed his ear against the door. Listened for a few minutes.

Was unsure what he could hear. Sobbing, babbling, something of the sorts.

He sighed, slipped the key into the lock, twisted it and pushed the door open.

Edward Hyde was laying on a lumpy straw mattress, the room was cramped, small, with solid stone walls with a drab greyish-blue paint over them.

There was nothing in the room, besides the bed and a tray of completely untouched, ice-cold food. Slimy porridge, some cold peas. An empty glass that probably had contained water.

Everything was metal. Metal tray, metal cup, a metal spoon.

There were scratches scraped into the paint beside the bed. Fourteen crooked lines, marking off fourteen days worth of imprisonment.

He was dressed in grey-white clothes. A loose shirt, short sleeves, drab, one-size-fits-all pair of pants drawn in with a cord through the waistband.

He was staring at the ceiling. “They won’t let me out, Henry, I have asked them again and again and that stupid doctor just thinks I’m crazy I don’t even think that he believes what Robert told him but that isn’t the point right now I’m stuck in here and no one will let me out this place is poison I can’t deal here but I’m stuck here and they won’t let me out I want to go home, Henry, and they won’t let me I just want to go home why won’t they let me they keep saying I’m crazy I am not crazy I am not crazy I am not crazy-”

“Edward Hyde?” Robert said softly, knocking on the door even though it was already sitting ajar.

Edward looked up with a start. “Robert! Robert, you have to let me out of here no one will let me out of here please I don’t want to stay here don’t make me stay here I can’t stay here please don’t make me stay here I want to go home…”

He immediately switched from babbling to Henry to pleading with Robert. He scurried out of bed, raced over to Robert, pulled an arm around the doctor’s shoulders and began to sob. “Please, let me out of here Robert I can’t stay here any longer…” He begged.

“Edward, I am not here to take you home, I am afraid, but I brought you some things.” Robert said with a sigh, wrapping the cloak around the blond’s skinny shoulders.

He looked up in horror, tears bright in his lovely green eyes, gasped. “You won’t let me go home either?” He realized, sniffling.

“No, Edward, you have six more weeks to stay here. Six more weeks, that is only forty-two more days you have already last fourteen. You can manage it, I believe you can and things will get better here, I promise.” Robert told him softly. “I brought you a blanket, too.” He admitted, holding that out to the blond as well, who pulled it into his arms and stuffed his face into it for a few brief moments.

“You won’t bring me home.” He repeated. “Why won’t you let me go home I need to go home please, please, please, let me go home I don’t want to stay here I am sorry I was wrong I shouldn’t have drank the cyanide I am sorry…” He sobbed, burying his face back into the blanket. “I don’t want to stay here…” He insisted, looking back up, lips trembling, tears running down his pale cheeks.

He looked thinner than earlier. Sick. Skin pale, almost blue, sallow. Robert sighed.

“No, I have not come here to take you home.” Robert replied, staring down at the little blond. “Although I do have something else to offer you, if you are interested. We could go for a walk, outside, if you would like.”

Hyde pondered that, green eyes wide, curious but not one hundred percent sold, Robert could tell. “I want to go home, Robert Lanyon.”

“I know you do. But you are not even halfway done your stay here, Edward. Two months, remember?”

“You manipulated me into agreeing to that, Robert, and in fact I never did! Isn’t that right, Henry? Robert forced us to stay here and he’s convinced I cannot make my own life choices so he locks me in a ward where they think I’m a fucking lunatic!”

“Henry is _dead_ , Edward, you would do well to remember that. Come for a walk with me, you will feel better after seeing the sun.” Robert encouraged, though he made it clear that it was not really a choice for Edward anymore. “I will not hear any more of this pleading, I have come here to visit you, not to listen to you whine.”

Edward glared at him. “Do I get to leave this room?” He asked suddenly, raising an eyebrow. “They won’t let me out of this room they say it is dangerous, but I don’t know who they mean that it is dangerous for, me, or the others.” He admitted.

Robert sighed. “Just follow me, you should get a chance to see the sunshine before I have to leave.” He encouraged, leading the young man out passed the shrieking and screaming and crying people and doors shaking with the fights and protested from the patients, out to the front door.

Hyde pulled his tattered cloak around his shoulders, burrowed into it as they stepped out into the brisk air. He shivered, squinted as they stepped out into the bright sunshine outside the heavy doors of the hospital.

“The lodgers await your return, in six more weeks. Rachel told me she shall come and see you later in the week, that will be nice, will it not?”

“Only if she will bring me home.” Hyde remarked angrily, folding his arms over his chest. “I want to go home. Henry, do you think that Rachel will bring us home, I don’t want to stay here anymore and Robert, your dear, precious friend Robert will not help us whatsoever. Bloody typical of the old rat bag, I never should have trusted him, never ever. I should not have told him anything about this you were right, we never should have told anyone our secret, this has become a mess, I should have just listened when you told me never to tell a soul what we were to each other and I didn’t and-”

“And if you are having this conversation with yourself then you remember why you told me, Edward. You told me your little secret because Henry was dead. Remember?”

“Stop it, Robert, just leave me alone haven’t you ruined enough of my life?” Edward asked pointedly. “I don’t want any favours from you.” He added angrily.

Robert sighed. He could not force Hyde to accept his company, and he would need to let Hyde reject it if he needed to.

So, he turned around. “Then let’s get you back to your room. I shall ask Rachel or Virginia or someone else to come visit you soon. And whether you want me to or not, I will return in a week to see you.”

Hyde did not say another word to Robert or anyone else the whole way back to his cell. Watched the blond bury himself in the cloak and blanket, then closed and locked to door.


	19. Chapter 19

"Doctor Lanyon, please, you need to hear me out he cannot stay there any longer it is hurting him you are hurting him!" Rachel Pidgley insisted angrily.  
"Rachel, you do not know that. He could be completely fine he could be getting better as he stays there and you want me to remove him on a premonition a cook has when the psychologist tells me he is fine?" The doctor asked, raising an eyebrow. "I am afraid I don't believe you."   
"Well you should! I happen to know Master Hyde a lot better than you do, you only think you know him because you had a thing for Master Jekyll, and don't you deny that one I know you did." Rachel snapped. "That place is tearing him apart, Doctor Lanyon, he was in hysterics when I could not bring him out of the hospital with me and if it had not been for your stupid, cruel friend in psychology I would have brought Master Hyde back here but I was caught. He needs to leave that place immediately!"   
"Why is that, Rachel?" Lanyon demanded. "Why do you claim that he needs out of a hospital built to help people-"   
"Who are crazy? Because he is not crazy, Doctor Lanyon, he is just different from the rest of us you cannot expect him to act him like anyone else would because he is not anyone else but that does not make him crazy!"   
"He drank cyanide!"   
"We allowed the lodgers to use the quesionaire period with him as an excuse to drag him through the mud! Mister Archer and Mister Griffin and Mister Sinnett pinned him in a box of either being evil or a failure and we all already knew he was unstable and then we let them do that to him! We already knew he was hurting and scared and they made it worse it does not make him crazy for having drank cyanide! He does not see an out to his suffering besides death and that is partially on us! He did not believe that cyanide had mystical healing properties he knew damned well that it would kill him that was what he wanted!" Rachel shouted.   
"He is self-destructive and needs to stay somewhere safe."   
"Only he isn't somewhere safe right now that place is worse for him than anywhere else and you just won't see it!" Rachel replied. "That place is tearing him apart! You want to see him insane, then make him stay there for the remaining five weeks and you will see him insane! He arguably has already been driven part way there!"   
"And why do you say that?" Robert asked her.   
"Did he not babble at you like he did me? Well, he does not babble to us, in particular, he babbles incessantly to Master Jekyll, because Master Jekyll never had a choice but to listen to him and no one else is right now. We are hurting him, Doctor Lanyon." She insisted, hands on her hips. "The longer we leave him there the less likely we are to ever fully get him back."   
Robert scowled. "But I don't believe that. I know that Edward will be fine, Miss Pidgley. He is completely fine the change is upsetting him, is all. If everyone stops entertaining his ridiculous needs and demands then he will be alright."   
"We both know that isn't true, Doctor Lanyon, why would that ever be true why would you believe that?" Rachel asked. "Bedlam is destroying him and I am not going to let you destroy him like that!"   
"But you can't do anything about it!" Robert argued.   
"Watch me." Rachel seethed. She glared at him. "I am going to get Edward out of that place and you should be helping me because he doesn't deserve to be there!"   
"He is mad, Rachel, and Alexander assures me they are helping."   
"Why do you believe that? It is a ridiculous premonition to believe it is stupid you have eyes, use them!" Rachel told him, pushing herself up onto her toes and getting into Lanyon's face. "It is dumb and you know there is no way that it is true because you saw the change in him! Don't argue with me, just think!"   
Lanyon was silent for a few moments. Was Edward Hyde worse off because the hospital was mistreating him? Robert did not think that was true but it may have been.   
Hyde had been babbling. Babbling like mad to Henry and then to Robert.   
"He needs someone to listen to him. When he realized that I was, him talking to Henry stopped. He just needs someone to listen to him but no one in that hospital believes a damned word he says."   
Robert sighed. "Very well. I am going to see him tomorrow I will talk to Alexander about removing him from the hospital, Miss Pidgley."   
Rachel was about to reply when the phone began to ringing, its clamerous chiming echoing through the office.   
Robert reached over and grabbed it off the cradle, held it to his ear. "Hello?"   
"Robert? You need to get down to the hospital and you need to get here now. You should have been here five minutes ago but it just happened just hurry you are already late."   
"Alexander what happened?" Robert asked.   
"It is not to be discussed over the phone just get here. Now."   
Robert slammed the phone back into the cradle. "Miss Pidgley we're going to Bedlam. Now." He instructed, throwing on a coat and his hat, grabbing his shoes. The cook did not ask why, simply ran to follow him, clearly scared of whatever the news may have been.   
The driver wasted no time getting to the royal hospital, Lanyon barged into utter, well, bedlam. There were nurses and doctors running rampant, trying to calm down halls full of turmoil and shrieking. Something had caused a fright and it had frightened everyone in the building. Everything the doctors did was jerky and scared. Tense.   
Alexander ran up to him. "Robert thank heavens you have arrived I feared you would not be fast enough!"   
"Fast enough for what?"   
"There was an accident." Alexander explained, rubbing the back of his head. He seemed embarrassed about something. Nervous about something. His pale skin was flushed red, freckles blending right in to everything else, his ginger hair in disarray. He had been well dressed, when he had gotten dressed this morning, but now his coat was torn in one spot and his clothing was all dusty and rumpled. "An incident, more like. Involved Mister Edward Hyde."   
"I could have guessed it was Hyde or you would not have called me, Alexander. What happened? From the top?" Lanyon was starting to get nervous. What could have happened to Edward what would be so wrong? Why was Alexander in such a fright what had happened in this hospital was he about to learn that Rachel had been right all along, but he hard way?   
"Well, doctor, most of this is simply hearsay, but, for lunch today, as per usual, a doctor was walking around delivering the trays to every patient down the hall that Hyde is kept on." Alexander began, took a deep breath, mopped at his brow with a handkerchief before continuing. Something had scared him badly and it worried Lanyon to know what that something was. How bad could this all be? Did he really want to know? "Edward Hyde is normally rather lucid and calm, he sits on his bed and often does not eat either lunch or breakfast, it depends on when he awoke. He simply sits there and allows himself to be served, is either talking to Henry or silent. You get the idea."   
"Yes I do, please, continue." Lanyon agreed. Rachel was standing beside him, chewing on her lower lip, staring at Alexander in fright to find out what had happened to her friend. It could not be good.   
"This time he was not." Alexander said slowly, sighing. "This time he pulled the poor doctor into the room, swiped the keys from his belt and locked him in the room."   
"Is that all? This is bad news, certainly unacceptable, but it is hardly the sort of tragedy you made it out to be on the phone." Robert said with a sigh.   
"I am not done, Robert, you will understand how this was a tragedy in a few minutes. Hyde escaped his room, which would have been truly no big deal. It happens all the time he is not on the ward for the criminally insane so it is all fine. However..." Alexander trailed off.   
"Tell us! Tell us what happened to him!" Rachel ordered, looking ready to tear her own hair out. "What is that bad what happened?"   
"He had kept a spoon from a meal that no one had noticed. Had been using it to scrape the lines into his walls, and had also sharpened it into a point by grating it against the stone walls. He went after another patient. She was a fairly calm one, the wards are all locked up tightly as well as the rooms, so we allowed hee to wander Hyde's ward in particular. Either way, he grabbed her, she started shrieking like mad. Hyde told us that if we didn't let him out of the hospital he was going to kill the girl." Alexander explained slowly.   
"You see, Robert? This place is driving him mad he is going insane he never would have attacked someone like that before we sent him here but you insisted that he was fine this is all your fault!" Rachel shouted.   
"That is not all, Miss Pidgley, I wish so desperately that I could tell you that he was talked down and placed back in his room-"   
"You mean cell. He does not have a room he had a cell, do not lie to me." Rachel corrected.   
"Whatever it will take to make you listen to what I am saying. He was not talked down, Miss. A guard pulled a gun, he panicked when he saw it. Drove the shiv into the woman's shoulder. She'll be fine but the point is, the guard shot him in the side." Alexander admitted with a sigh. "Our doctors had a look... he's dying. That is why you needed to get here so quickly I did not want him to die without a friend by his side."   
Rachel's jaw dropped. Lanyon grabbed his friend's arm, desperate for a correction. "Are you certain? He is dying?"   
"We are certain. Follow me I will bring you to see him. We cannot save him so we left him in his... cell, as Miss Pidgley calls it, with his few personal affairs. All we can do is keep him comfortable." Alexander explained with a sigh.   
With dread building in Lanyon's stomach, he walked down the hall after his friend. Rachel was crying softly behind him.   
He turned to offer her a hug. She pushed him away. "This is your fault! Yours and this stupid psychologist you made him stay here he never would have done this if you had not made him stay here!" She snarled, rounding on him, pain and anger filling her eyes. "He was like a little brother to me and you got him killed! He's dying! And it's all your fault don't offer me your comfort, you band of murderers!"   
She pushed passed them both, snatched the key away from Alexander as she passed them. Walked over to the blond's room, one that already smelled of blood and death, unlocked the door and stepped inside.   
Lanyon gave her a few minutes before entering himself. He wanted to be there with Hyde when he died, he owed the blond that.   
Rachel had gathered him into her arms. He was pale and sweaty, his skin was doubtlessly clammy to the touch, his green eyes dull, head rested against Rachel's shoulder. His hands shook.   
His breathing rattled his entire form, did not come in long breaths but rather short gasps inwards, several at a time, and short exhales, again, several at a time.   
Rachel was sobbing uncontrollably. Slowly, Lanyon looked down to see the wound.   
Hyde's shirt had been torn away to reveal it. It was swollen and red all around the area, a deep, dark hole punctured into his skin, just below his ribcage. Blood ran freely from it, tho it had clearly been under pressure for a time, because it wasn't flowing as fast as it could have been.   
Reality began to oh-so-slowly set in for Robert Lanyon. He hit his knees on the wooden floor that was splattered in blood, reached out and took the blond's cool, clammy hand in his own.   
Sobbed. Hyde was going to die he was going to lose Edward Hyde just like he had lost Henry Jekyll.   
"R-Rachel? A-are y-ye-you here t-ta-te-to take me h-home?" Edward's voice was breathy and soft, barely even there.   
She stopped for a moment. "Yes, Master Hyde, Doctor Lanyon and I have come to take you home." She replied in a whisper. "Doctor. He's not dying here we're bringing him home to his apartment to his home he isn't dying here please don't make him die here..." She begged, tears spilling from her eyes.   
Robert nodded. Lifted the blond from Rachel's arms, Hyde whined a little, clearly pained, but otherwise did not complain. He was simply too weak to complain. "Rachel run ahead give the driver the address." He instructed, the cook darted off.   
No one tried to stop the doctor as he walked down the hall as fast as he dared, nearly running, he would have if he hadn't known that it would hurt Hyde more than it was worth.   
Got outside, Edward squinted in the bright sunlight. Got into the carriage, laid Edward across both of their laps, head in Rachel's, where she sat and smoothed his hair, crying to herself, knees propped up on Robert's.   
His breathing was slowing. They were still far from his apartment, far from home.   
"I'm sorry Henry I just wanted to go home I'm so sorry..." He murmured, breathing too weak to even hear the stutter in.   
"Edward. You do not need to talk to Henry I am listening to you. And I am sorry I did not earlier." Robert murmured.   
The blond's green eyes opened a crack to look at him. "I'm not going to make it home, am I?"   
Rachel sighed. Brushed his hair from his face, sniffled. Kissed Edward's forehead. "Home is love, Edward. Home is your family. Home is where your heart is. You are home. You... You can let go now, you're home..." She murmured, tears running freely down her cheeks.   
“I just wanted to go home…” Edward breathed.

“I know.” Lanyon said finally. “I should have let you, you shouldn't have had to do this. I… I’m sorry, Edward… this is all my fault…”

Rachel sniffled and clung to the little blond, steadily growing weaker in her arms.

He never answered Robert’s apology. Robert heard one more thing in his breathy, weak voice, and he said it to Rachel.

“Thank you… for being my family…”

Rachel’s sobbing redoubled as the last breath slipped out from Edward Hyde’s pale lips.

And Robert Lanyon dissolved into tears.

 

THE END

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for sticking around, everyone. This chapter may see minor edits it was all done on my phone. But this is the end. I hope you enjoyed The End of A Nightmare. I have one other story on AO3 that is also tgs called One And The Same, check that out if you like, and please leave kudos and reviews!


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